Class. Book. Copyright }J 10 COPWJIGHT DEPQSm r • miiffliiiMif masmBsmBBSBmmmmmmmmmm Preparedness is the Shield and the Sword. (See page 225) Right and Duty OR Citizen and Soldier Switzerland Prepared and at Peace A MODEL FOR THE UNITED STATES BY FREDERICK A. KUENZLI Assistant Appraiser Port of New York Graduate of Teachers' College of Wettingen, Switzerland, and of the ^cole Polytechnique Federale at Zurich, Switzerland Formerly an Officer of the Swiss Army Published by National Defense Institute Tribune Bldg., New York City G. E. STECHERT & CO., Selling Agents. Copyright 1916 by Frederick A. Kuknzli fl trS DEC 15 1916 ©CI.A41 53093 The United States and Switzerland have common prin- ciples of life, common ideals and common aspirations. * * * How can Americans differ about the safety of America? * * * / cannot tell you what the international relations of this country will be to-morrow, and I use the word liter- ally; and I would not dare keep silent and let the country suppose that to-morrozv zvas certain to be as bright as to-day. * * * JVe think first of peace, we think of the Civilian life, we think first of industry ; we want the men who are going to defend the Nation to be immersed in these pursuits of peace. But we want them to know how, when oc- casion arises, to rally to the assistance of the professional soldier of the country and show the nations of the world the might of America. * * * We are in the midst of a world that we did not make and can not alter; its atmospheric and physical conditions are the conditions of our own life also, amd therefore, as your responsible servant, I must tell you that the dangers are infinite and constant. I should feel that I was guilty of an unpardonable omission if I did not go out and tell my fellow countrymen that new circumstances have arisen which make it absolutely necessary that this country should prepare herself, not for war, not for anything that smacks in the least of aggression, but for adequate national defense. * * * When the world is on fire, hozv much time can you afford to take to be ready? ''' * * — President Woodrow Wilson. Americans foremost advocate of Preparedness, Major- General Leonard Wood, zvrites the following comment on this book: HEADQUARTERS EASTERN DEPARTMENT GOVERNOR'S ISLAND, NEW YORK CITY November i, ipi6. My dear Mr. KuenMi: I return herezvith your manuscript ''Right and Duty or Citizen and Soldier" "Szvitzerland prepared and at peace, a model for the United States." I think it is ex- cellent and will help immensely to point out to our citi- zenry the necessity of universal training. Your synopsis of Swiss history, Switzerland's wonderful democratic in- stitutions and legislation, her defense system, and your patriotic suggestions should be read by every American. Your translation of the whole Military Constitution gives the reader a deep insight of the character of the brave, progressive, patriotic Swiss nation. I wish the book the largest measure of success and hope you will keep up the zvork of building up general interest in this all-important subject of military pre- paredness. Sincerely yours, /foW^Cc.^^^^^^^^1^*-^ TTNIVERSAL military service is the only safe and equitable basis of national defense. It cannot be universal unless it is compulsory. The volunteer system is a failure sometimes, and a dangerous expedient always. It tends to sacrifice noble and generous youths and per- mit selfish and cowardly citizens to shirk their duty. The more the Swiss system of universal compulsory military service is studied, the more it is seen to be ap- plicable to the United States. There is no injustice or favoritism in it. It creates the greatest possible defense against emer- gency ivith the least possible expense of time, money and service. It utilizes to the full the manhood strength of the nation, without interfering with the peaceful pursuits of the people. It energizes and builds up the physique and sturdiness of its men zvithout making them professional soldiers. — Louis N. Hammerling in the American Leader. r^UR zveakness zvill invite attack, so preparedness is not only the szvord, hut it is the shield. No nation will attack us if zve are strong, an insignificant nation might attack us if zve are zveak ; so preparedness shall avert zsuar, and, therefore, is more a peace measure than a zvar measure. The basis of preparedness must not only be trained soldiery, properly officered, but in the training of our citizen-soldiery in the schools zve must develop not only the latent material resources of the nation, but those re- sources of strength and patriotism zvhich can be found best in the education of the youth, and in the discipline of the man. — U. S. Senator Phelan, Cal. PREFACE. THERE are two paths to preparedness. One is that of militarism, and is repugnant to freemen. It means a large standing army, in which each man would be compelled to serve his alloted term of years. It means being driven. It means the breaking down of equality, of democracy. It means subtracting hundreds of thousands of productive human units from the sum total of the nation's economic productivity. The other path is the way of education, the training and proper development of the bodies of our boys while they are in school, so that no long period of military training when they are grown will be necessary to make .potential soldiers of them. That is the path that can be trod without upsetting the principles of a republic. Physical training of the boys in the public schools, complemented at maturity by a short period of universal military training, has made the citizens of the Swiss Republic the best soldiers, man for man, on earth. A thing to be noted is, that system has not made Switzer- land any the less democratic ; it has not made a militarist nation of her. Universal military training is bound to come in Amer- ica. Why not lay the foundation for it and make it easier by educating our boys to look forward to it as a joyful service, not a disagreable duty? A system of voluntary military training might have been practicable some years ago. It is not practicable now, not only for the reason that no sufficient number would volunteer, but because of the utter impossibility of training hundreds of thousands of raw recruits when the enemy is almost at our door. The average American has come too much to place his personal comfort and convenience, the gratification of his appetites, the pursuit of material wealth above the spirit of self-sacrifice that must animate a patriot. The poison has sunk deep. The antidote is universal military training. Does that sound harsh? No doubt it does to the sadly increasing effeminate type of male human being that has grown up under the fostering paternal care of the pacifists. But would not a devastated land, sacked cities, helpless men slaughtered, women widowed, babes orphaned and dearly-bought wealth confiscated by an alien conqueror be harsher still? That can never happen, say you? And why not? Isn't it possible to contemplate the day when the Ameri- can people will thank German enterprise for the lesson taught us when the first submarine merchantman crossed the Atlantic, eluding enemy men-of-war and slipped into Baltimore harbor? Can America fail to heed that les- son? Is there a man honored by the American people with authority who will dare to be so base as to make light of it? The minute the ''Deutschland" poked her periscope above the surface of Baltimore Bay there crumbled one of the stock arguments opponents of a larger Army and Navy have dinned into our ears from time immemorial. As assets of national defense the Atlantic and Pacific oceans are of little more value to the American Republic as though they did not exist. Destruction of our fleet on either coast by hostile submarines sent from Europe or Asia is no longer a dream. It could be done, and we most reckon on the day it may be attempted. That once accomplished, fleets battering down our coast defenses would clear the way for landing an invasion, and then the future existence of the Republic would depend on the Army, and the number of trained men she could call to the colors. It is so simple that extensive argument would be fatuous. 10 We must have the men — hundreds of thousands of them — trained to the use of arms, and the officers to command them. Now is the time to arrest the progress of the cancer with which pacificism has infected our social and poHtical institutions. Those who would never volunteer to undergo military training must be compelled to do so. The State must exercise its inherent right to take such measures as it deems needful for the protection of its own life. Every American boy, physically fit, should spend at least six weeks each in his 19th, 20th and 21st year in military training for his country's and his own health's sake. What nobler, prouder, or more patriotic spirit could animate the hearts of our sons when they go to the ballot box for the first time to exercise their right to choose a government deriving its just powers from the consent of the governed, than the sublime consciousness they can also give assurance to the State that they are able to de- fend that government should necessity impose that duty upon them. On the theory that such universal training is impera- tive, the author has undertaken to show by the achieve- ments of the Swiss Republic what should be done, in a general way, and how. II HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. I. PERIOD BEFORE 1848. Six centuries of experience with violent neighbors bent on conquest taught Switzerland the value of pre- paredness. Ages of growing civilization have served chiefly to refine, hardly to lessen, the spirit of *'Faust- recht" — the principle dominating the conduct of the powerful princes of Central Europe — ''the right of the mailed fist." Switzerland had need to see to it that her military establishment kept pace with that of any power liable to be hurled against her. The hob-nailed shoes that enabled a handful of ill-armed mountaineers rolling boulders down upon their foe to overcome the flower of Hapsburg knighthood on the slippery side of Morgarten in 1315 would not avail today against mountain artillery. Hence, the wall of bayonets in August, 1914, warning Germans, Austrians, French and Italians alike that "Helvetia" was not to be an- other Belgium. Your Swiss is no militarist. He does not strut about with a chip on his shoulder, looking for fight. He loves peace ; but he loves his liberty, his rights and his country's honor better than peace, and will fight to maintain them. Experience, as has been said, having taught the Swiss people that the best way to awe a bully nation was to be ready to repel encroachment, Switzerland is prepared. 13 An idea of how her military prowess sprang from her needs and so grew up amongst republican institu- tions as not to be in any way repugnant to them is necessary to complete understanding of the example America's little sister of the Alps offers us today. SWITZERLAND DURING THE INTERREGNUM. When Conrad IV. succeeded in 1250 to the crown which his weak predecessor, Frederick II., had per- mitted to sink to little more than a bauble, he tried manfully to wield again into a cohesive and powerful domain the historic Holy Roman Empire. Had he lived longer perhaps he might have succeeded. But four years were all too short for such a task and there followed until 1272 that period of disorder known as the Interregnum. It was during the Interregnum that the seeds of the plant that was later to blossom into Swiss independence were sown. The Cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unter- walden were among those petty states caught in the maelstrom of warring emperors, nobles and Popes, who suffered from the near-anarchy and oppression resultant from lack of organized government. Though obscurity surrounds the details of just what did take place among these three Cantons during the Interregnum, enough has been gleaned from documents of later date to make it certain that they formed some sort of an alliance for mutual protection and resistance against foes of any of them and to fix the date of this agreement as about 1260, six years after the death of Conrad IV. The accession of Rudolph to the throne of the Em- pire in 1272 gained the three allied Cantons a powerful 14 friend. Rudolph was the first member of the House of Hapsburg to wear the imperial crown. He lost no time in energetically setting to work to conquer the rebellious German princes who did not relish the thought of having a real sovereign after the eighteen years of license they had enjoyed. LOYAL TO THE EMPIRE. No more loyal vassals, no stronger aid against the rebels did Rudolph find than the Swiss people. The Swiss had always supported the Emperor for that mat- ter, even against the Pope, so in the case of Rudolph they were merely following a course they had always pursued. But that did not lessen Rudolph's gratitude toward them and during his reign they enjoyed many favors. Though the Swiss loved Rudolph they did not alto- gether trust the other princes of the House of Hapsburg, and, when Rudolph died in 1292, the Cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden lost no time in forming the League that renewed their earlier covenant and that was destined to be the keystone of the arch of Swiss independence. Before tracing the general conditions without, that caused apprehension among the three Can- tons at the death of Rudolph, it may be well to explain their internal conditions in 1291. In the ninth century, Louis of Bavaria, grandson of Charlemagne, had founded the convent of Zurich of which his two sisters became abbesses, receiving as a grant the greater portion of the Canton of Uri. The Abbess ruled her vassals through a secular warden. This wardenship became so sought-after a post that the Houses of Zahringen and Hapsburg in turn had succeeded in having abrogated the provision of the IS original grant making the abbey-lands of Zurich directly dependent on the Empire, and held the wardenship in their famihes. In 1231, however, Frederick II. revoked this Hapsburg privilege, and placed Uri once more in direct vassalage to the Empire. When Rudolph ascended the imperial throne, although himself a Hapsburg, he confirmed this privilege out of gratitude for the aid the Swiss had rendered him against his enemies. Schwyz, also, had had a grant from Frederick II. in 1240, making its people directly dependent upon the Empire, but the Hapsburgs had succeeded in nullifying it, and likewise in prevailing upon their kinsman Rudolph not to renew it as he had that of Uri. In 1291 much of Schwyz was under control of Hapsburg nobles who were reaching out steadily, grasping greater power and wider domains. In addition there was in Schwyz a community of free peasants, but these, too, were under the government of the Emperor's delegates who in this case were scions of the same House of Hapsburg. THE HAPSBURG MENACE. Unterwalden was still more completely under the dominion of the Hapsburgs, being part of their personal holdings. The land itself of Unterwalden was all owned either by Hapsburg nobles or by the Abbey of Murbach, and the Hapsburg held the Murbach wardenship. Hence, Unterwalden had neither the free tenancy that obtained in part of Schwyz nor the privilege of direct dependence on the Empire that characterized Uri. Thus did the Hapsburg menace face the Swiss when their friend and protector Rudolph died, leaving them at the mercy of nobles and abbots who were determined, no matter how unjust the means or oppressive the 16 measures, to extend their own power and aggrandize- ment. Before Rudolph's reign, even during the Inter- regnum, the shadow of imperial power had been sufficient to give the Swiss some need of protection against en- croachment of the Hapsburgs. Rudolph combined the power of the Hapsburgs and the Empire in one head, but the danger was averted because Rudolph loved and was loved by the Swiss. But at his death the Swiss, fearing the imperial crown would fall to some Hapsburg willing to assist his numerous noble kinsmen in their designs of conquest, took the position that "forewarned is forearmed" and the three Cantons promptly renewed their alliance of a generation before. Thus was born the League of 1291 — the Magna Charta of Switzerland. LEAGUE OF THE THREE CANTONS. The original document is still preserved in the ar- chives of the town of Schwyz. Its text, attended by the seals of the men of all three Cantons, reads as follows : *'Be it known to everyone, that the men of the Dale of Uri, the Community of Schwyz, as also the men of the mountains of Unterwald, in con- sideration of the evil times, have full confidently bound themselves, and sworn to help each other with all their power and might, property and people, against all who shall do violence to them. That is our ancient Bond. "Whoever serves a lord, let him obey accord- ing to the conditions of his service. "We are agreed to receive into these dales no Judge, who is not a countryman and indweller, or who hath bought his place. 17 i8 U. S. Senator George E. Chamberlain Father of Universal Training in Congress. "Every controversy amongst the sworn con- federates shall be determined by some of the sagest of their number, and if anyone shall chal- lenge their judgment, then shall he be constrained to obey it by the rest. ''Whoever intentionally or deceitfully kills an- other shall be executed, and whoever shelters him shall be banished. ''Whoever burns the property of another shall no longer be regarded as a countryman, and who- ever shelters him shall make good the damage done. "No one shall destrain a debtor without a Judge, nor anyone who is not his debtor or the surety for such debtor. "Everyone in these dales shall submit to the Judge or we, the sworn confederates, all will take satisfaction for all the injury occasioned by his contumacy. And if in any internal division the one party will not accept justice, all the rest shall help the other party. "These decrees shall, God willing, endure eter- nally for our general advantage." The spirit that impelled the three Cantons to renew and enlarge their "ancient bond" in 1291 is fully re- vealed in this document. The mutual pledge of aid against any aggressor, "in consideration of the evil times," reflects all too plainly the determination of the Swiss to resist to the end anticipated encroachments of the Hapsburgs. But at the same time they made it plain they did not seek to overthrow lawfully established in- stitutions, as witness the dictum that any man bound in 19 vassalage to a feudal lord should fulfill the terms of his service. General law and order were guarded in the penalties fixed for murder, arson and robbery, while per- sonal rights were held inviolable in the provision for- bidding constraint "without a judge." In other words the Swiss served notice on the Haps- burgs and any other who might attempt to oppress them : "This far shalt thou go, and no farther ! The rights and grants the Empire has lawfully vested in you shall not be disturbed. But you shall not encroach beyond those rights, nor enslave a free people!" The League of 1291 is often referred to as the Swiss "Declaration of Independence." While this is not alto- gether an inappropriate title for the agreement of the Cantons to defend their liberties against aggressors, the impression should not prevail that Switzerland under- took to become independent of all authority but its own in 1291. The Cantons still acknowledge the sovereignty of the Holy Roman Empire and purposed continuing to do so unless, the imperial crown remaining with the Hapsburg, those ambitious princes should seek to deprive the Swiss of their charters and grants. Their spirit is expressed by Schiller in "Wilhelm Tell," when the delegates from the Cantons, assembling on the "Riitli," pledge to one another: We will be One single fold of brothers, in no need Will sunder, nor no danger. We will be Free, as our fathers were, and rather death Than life in shameful bondage! We will set In God Most High our trust. We will not fear The might of man to hurt us! 20 But the Swiss were not the only ones who had felt alarm at the rapid strides with which the Hapsburgs were enforcing their claims to supreme power. The Electors, in whom abided the right of selecting Rudolph's successor, disregarded Rudolph's heir, Albrecht, and seated Adolph of Nassau on the throne. Albrecht, fail- ing of election, had recourse to arms. The Swiss, con- sistent with their principles of always siding with the lawful Emperor, and likewise, no doubt, strengthened in it by the thought that the Hapsburg menace was per- sonified in Albrecht, fought in the armies of Adolph. He, like Rudolph had done, rewarded them by confirm- ing their charters. THE TYRANNY OF ALBRECHT. But in 1298 Albrecht slew Adolph in single combat at Goellheim and seized the throne of the Empire. The Swiss fear of what would happen if the Hapsburgs re- tained the suzerainty was justified by events. Albrecht made haste to aggrandize the House of Hapsburg and punish the Swiss for their espousal of Adolph's cause at one stroke. He transferred the Cantons from the condition of allegiance to the Empire to direct depend- ence on his own branch of the Hapsburg family. By this act Albrecht aimed to make certain that the Swiss would be subject to the Hapsburg regardless of who suc- ceeded him as Emperor. For ten years Albrecht and his Austrian "Land- vogte," or baillies, sent by him to rule the Swiss, op- pressed the people of the Cantons. There was much revolt and disorder, although a mist of legend makes it difficult to ascertain exactly just what events did take place. It is quite likely the Swiss met with some suc- 21 cess in resisting Albrecht's representatives. The slaying of Wolfenschiessen, an Austrian governor, by Baum- garten in defense of his wife's honor seems to be a fairly well-authenticated indication of the sort of tyranny the Swiss were subjected to by their Hapsburg masters during the decade Emperor Albrecht reigned. But Albrecht's proclivity to tyrannizing over those weaker than himself proved to be his own undoing. In 1308 he was killed by his ward and nephew, Archduke John, when the Emperor refused to turn over the Arch- duke's inheritance to him. THE STRUGGLE BEGINS. The answer of the Swiss representative to the appeal of Albrecht's widow to help her hunt down the slayer of her husband is characteristic to their sturdy self-reli- ance and disinclination to curry favor with one high in power. They said, in effect, that since John and his con- federates were miscreants they would not shelter them or actually help them escape, but that inasmuch as Al- brecht had wronged and oppressed them they saw no reason why they should join in the hunt for the man who had relieved them of his tyranny. The Electors once more passed by the claims of the House of Hapsburg to the imperial throne and chose Henry of Luxemburg as Emperor. Henry confirmed the charters of the Swiss, but his regime was terminated by death in 13 13. From then dated the beginning of the three Swiss Cantons as a nation in arms, battling to preserve their liberties against the Austrians. For this time Hapsburg, though again disappointed in the Elector's choice, took it upon itself to chasten the Swiss. 22 Frederick of Hapsburg and Ludwig of Bavaria were the claimants of the imperial throne at the death of Henry. After a brief interregnum the Electors chose Ludwig. In the meantime, however, adherents of the rival claimants had had frequent recourse to violence and the inhabitants of Schwyz, who, with those of the other Cantons supported Ludwig, had sacked the Monas- tery of Einsiedeln, of which Frederick of Hapsburg was warden, and had carried off the monks as captives. For this the men of Schwyz incurred the ban of the Empire and excommunication from the Church, but when Lud- wig acceded to the throne he himself removed the ban and brought enough influence to bear to have the excom- munication Hfted. THE BATTLE OF MORGARTEN. But apparently Ludwig was not powerful enough to protect his faithful against the Austrians who now set out to punish the impudent mountaineers. Duke Leopold of Austria, younger brother of the disappointed Fred- erick, led an army of between 15,000 and 20,000 infantry and heavy cavalry to Switzerland, vowing he would an- nihilate the peasants. A small body of Swiss, poorly armed, but heroic in heart, ambushed the splendid Haps- burg army as it filed into the Pass of Morgarten. Hurl- ing great boulders and trunks of trees down upon the invaders who could not ascend the sHppery sides of the mountain, the Swiss fell upon them when they were in panic and butchered them. Leopold himself was hard put to it to escape with but a remnant of the powerful force he had led into with such intentions. Emperor Ludwig must have gloated at this victory of the Swiss over their common enemy for he unhesi- 23 tatingly gave his approval to a renewal of the League of 1 29 1. The authority of the Empire was acknowledged in the new document, as were the rights of the feudal lords, but it was made plain again that no encroachment beyond the limit of these rights would be countenanced. The next demonstration of the prowess of the Swiss mountaineers was given in 1339 when at the battle of Laupen they helped thrash the jealous nobles who had moved to attack the free imperial city of Bern. THE LEAGUE EXPANDS. By 1353 the League of the Cantons had grown from the original three — Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden — to eight. Lucerne entered the League in 1332, Zurich in 135 1, Glarus and Zug in 1352 and Bern in 1353. Lucerne had long been the market place of the people of the three Forest Cantons, consequently she was bound to them by ties that made her accession to the League easy. Under the rule of the Murbach Abbey, Lucerne had enjoyed a large degree of self-govrnment, but, in 1291, the Abbey found itself in financial difficulties and sold the town of Lucerne to the Hapsburgs. For more than forty years the people of Lucerne chafed under the Austrian yoke, and in 1332 saw their opportunity to throw it off in joining Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden. Zurich had enjoyed unexampled power and prosperity under Burgomaster Brun, who had made himself dic- tator by placing himself at the head of the common citizens and crushing the nobles. Brun, however, was not antagonistic toward Austria, in fact he rather favored the Hapsburgs. So, in the alliance Zurich entered into with the other Cantons in 1351, it was provided that she might make treaties with other states outside the 24 League. Zurich began to extend the territory of the Federation by conquest. In November, her forces in- vaded Glarus and conquered it. It has been always sus- pected that the people of Glarus permitted themselves to be conquered, for they also had previously fallen under the Hapsburg rule. In any event the following spring they themselves routed an Austrian force that was sent to redeem the territory, and in June, 1352, Glarus was admitted into the League. Zug was surrounded by territory of the Federation after the admission of Glarus, and the Cantons con- sidered it necessary that she become one of them. They sent a Federal force to besiege the town of Zug which surrendered June 2y, 1352. In spite of her resistance, Zug was taken in as a full-fledged member of the League. Bern had held the Cantons in high regard ever since 1339 when, at the Battle of Laupen, the city had been rescued from a besieging force of some powerful nobles by the arrival of six thousand soldiers from the League. Bern had grown to great military importance during her years of warfare with the surrounding feudal lords, but she herself had a thoroughly aristocratic form of gov- ernment. After the Battle of Laupen, Austria, anxious to obtain so potent an ally, induced Bern to make a treaty with her. This alliance lasted ten years. In 1353, following the Peace of Brandenburg, Bern joined the League of the Cantons, raising its number to eight. But it must not be supposed that haughty Hapsburg had looked on unconcerned while the Swiss Confederacy was being augmented and strengthened by these new ac- cessions. Full well did Austria realize that the motive underlying this steadily growing union of the Cantons 25 was that of lifting a barrier against her own expansion. In 1332 Austria had protested against Lucerne joining the Confederacy and when, nineteen years later, Zurich followed suit, she had recourse to action. AUSTRIA RENEWS WAR ON THE LEAGUE. In 1354 the Hapsburg princes brought to bear on the Empire sufficient influence to obtain its assistance, and a combined force of Austrian and imperial troops besieged Zurich. But a change of policy soon caused the withdrawal of the Empire's forces and the siege per- force was abandoned. Another unsuccessful attempt of the Austrians in 1368 to crush the sturdy Swiss was fol- lowed by eighteen years of comparative peace between them. Duke Leopold IL, grandson of the ill-fated Emperor Albrecht, took up in 1386 the ancient quarrel of his house. He led six thousand of his finest soldiers against Lucerne, and joined battle at Sempach with a poorly equipped force of two thousand from the Cantons. The Austrian phalanx presented a solid front, and the Swiss had nothing more formidable than rude boards to ward off the spears of the Hapsburg knights. At this critical juncture Arnold Struthan von Winkelried, whose feat has reliable historical foundation, dashed to the fore- front of his compatriots : ''Dear and faithful comrades, I will open you a pas- sage. Protect my wife and children!" Winkelried shouted and raced headlong toward the Austrian lines. With arms outstretched he gathered into his own breast as many of the lances as he could encompass, broke the phalanx and made a lane through which his fellows, in- spired to the acme of valor and prowess by his unprece- 26 dented sacrifice, charged over his mangled corpse to vic- tory. The Austrians were routed, six hundred and fifty- six of their chiefest nobles being dead on the field of Sempach. Two years later the last effort on the part of Austria to subdue her doughty little foe was made. At Nafels the Swiss, imitating the strategy that had won for their forbears at Morgarten in 13 15, administered another crushing defeat to the Austrians. From 1338 dates the actual and admitted independence of Switzerland as a nation. The Swiss celebrated the 500th anniversary of their freedom by flocking to Nafels from all corners of the Republic on April 5, 1888, to take part in the cere- monies the people of Glarus hold there each year. In 1389 Austria and the Cantons arranged a seven years' peace. This agreement was prolonged subse- quently for seventy years. Finally, Austria gave up all claims to dominion over Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Lucerne, Zurich, Glarus, Zug and Bern. GRADUAL GROWTH OF THE FEDERATION. By 1 5 13, 125 years after the Battle of Nafels, the number of Cantons in the League had increased from eight to thirteen. Freiburg and Solothurn were ad- mitted in 1 481 ; Basel and Schaffhausen in 1501, and Appenzell in 15 13. This extension of the League's territory during the 15th century was, however, gradual. Some of the States eventually admitted to full membership in the Federation had, prior to their admission, entered into alliances of various sorts with the Cantons. Some of them were in- ferior allies such as Appenzell became in 141 1; others put themselves under the protection of the League; while 27 still another class became, through conquest, subject lands. In 1436 Zurich and Schwyz engaged in civil war over territory which each claimed to have inherited from Emperor Frederick VII. who died in that year. This disputed land composed what is now the Canton of St. Gall, a considerable part of Graubiinden, Voralberg and other territory. The other Cantons aided Schwyz and their combined force besieged the city of Zurich. Austria saw her opportunity and took up arms against the Federation. Austria and Zurich combined were no match for the League, so France was prevailed upon to join them. The Dauphin (later Louis XL) led an army of thirty thousand against Basel. The Swiss advanced to meet them. One division of the Swiss were surrounded on an island in the River Birs and annihilated. SWISS MILITARY FAME SPREADS. What was left of the Swiss force, not over six hun- dred men, confronted the French army thirty times their number, at the infirmary of St. Jacques. Twice in the course of six hours they repulsed furious French attacks and twice made heroic sorties themselves. But, finally, the French stormed the infirmary walls, rushed in and overwhelmed the Swiss in a hand-to-hand conflict. The Swiss would not surrender, preferring to die instead. The French lost four thousand men in the Battle of St. Jacques, and the heroism of the Swiss so impressed Louis that he made an honorable peace with them. This battle went a long way toward establishing the military reputation of the Swiss. 28 The civil war between Zurich and the other Cantons did not actually end until six years later, when, at the Peace of 1450, Zurich abandoned her alliance with Aus- tria. The Cantons became reconciled, and the League a more cohesive union than ever. The Burgundian Wars (1474- 1477) served still further to enhance Switzerland's military standing. The story of how Louis of France, still mindful of St. Jacques, bent all his efforts toward gaining the aid of the Swiss in his design to destroy the power of Charles the Bold of Burgundy, and how he succeeded in attracting them to his cause, is too long a one to be related here. A force from Bern, Freiburg and Solothurn invaded Vaud in 1475. This territory was subject to Savoy, and Savoy was an ally of Burgundy. The Swiss took con- siderable territory from Savoy, the most important being Lower Valais. Charles the Bold proceded to retaliate by invading Switzerland with an army of fifty thousand, accompanied by heavy artillery. Following some pre- Hminary skirmishes he was met by a well-equipped force of eighteen thousand Swiss infantry and cavalry at Grandson early in March, 1476. Mistaking a maneuver of Charles for an order to retreat, at the very moment the main body of the Swiss came up to support their advance force, the Burgundians were thrown into a panic and, to quote a chronicler of the time, "took to their heels, and disappeared from sight, as if a whirlwind had swept them from the earth." SWISS HALT CAREER OF CHARLES THE BOLD. In less than two weeks Charles set to work to reas- semble his defeated army. The Bernese were on guard 29 and fortified their strong outpost, Morat. In June Charles laid siege to Morat with twenty-five thousand men. The fortress was defended by a garrison of fif- teen hundred Swiss under command of Adrian von Bubenberg. For two weeks they withstood alone the onslaughts of the Burgundians. On June 22nd the main army of the League, com- prising about ten thousand troops under Hans Wald- mann of Zurich, arrived before Morat to relieve their beleaguered compatriots. The story of the Battle of Morat is in itself a lesson in tactics. Their guns on their shoulders, Waldmann's soldiers dauntlessly charged the Burgundian artillery. Heedless of the heavy fire thinning their ranks, the Swiss advanced right up to their foe, drove them from their cannon, and then formed themselves into a phalanx and charged the Burgundian centre. Charles himself was there surrounded by an auxiliary force of crack English archers. What ensued was slaughter. Charles personally engaged in furious com- bat and, before the fight was over, saw fifteen hundred of his chief nobles lying dead around him. In this critical juncture Bubenberg salHed forth with his garrison troops and attacked the Burgundian left wing. Simultaneously the force of Lucerne soldiers as- saulted the Burgundian centre from the rear. Charles' army, terror-stricken, fled in a wild rout. For miles the Swiss pursued them, bloody hand-to-hand conflicts resulting whenever they overtook their foe. Twelve thousand Burgundians were killed that day, many fleeing into the lake to drown rather than face a more terrible death at the hands of the victorious Swiss. Three thousand of the League's soldiers fell. 30 Bitterly disappointed and filled with despair, Charles took refuge in Morges with a few followers. Bearing the rich spoils they had taken from the Burgundian camp, the Swiss army returned home, greeted with wild ac- claim by the people they had saved from the yoke of Charles. To this day the Battle of Morat ranks with those of Morgarten and Sempach in the annals of Swiss military achievement. Duke Rene of Lorraine who had fought in the Swiss army against the Burgundians now set about redeeming his own province from Charles' grasp. The Burgundian ruler, although he had had his fill of fighting the Swiss, did not purpose to lose Lorraine. Late in 1476 he ad- vanced into that province with a new army and took the city of Nancy. Duke Rene begged the League to come to his assist- ance, but the canny Swiss could not see any advantage in such an undertaking. However, Swiss citizens were per- mitted to enlist in Rene's army and eight thousand of them, under Hans Waldmann, recaptured Nancy in January 1477. Charles the Bold was himself killed at Nancy. So the Swiss, after having started this powerful monarch on the road to destruction, were the principal actors in the final chapter of his tragic history. The net result of the Burgundian campaign was not by any means commensurate with the part the Cantons had played in breaking up Charles' empire. Vaud was returned to Savoy upon payment of a ransom, yet the way was opened for the annexation of Vaud to Switzer- land later on. Lower Valais and all Freiburg were free from the domination of Savoy. The most thrilling instance of Swiss military prowess, 31 and one that spread its fame throughout Italy, was the Battle of Giornico in 1478 where a force of only six hundred Swiss defeated a Milanese army of fifteen thou- sand. This battle was the culmination of three-quarters of a century of warfare between the Milanese and the Forest Cantons. It laid the foundation for the subse- quent acquisition of Ticino, an Italian-speaking district, by the League early in the sixteenth century. Ticino was not admitted as a Canton until 1803. BEGINNING OF MERCENARY SERVICE. Though the Battle of Nancy was the fitting climax of a glorious record of Swiss miHtary achievement, it at the same time inaugurated a far less creditable period. For at Nancy Swiss soldiers for the first time engaged in mercenary foreign service. They hired themselves for services in a war in which their own country had refused to participate. For the next three centuries the Swiss mercenaries were eagerly sought after by the most powerful monarchs in Europe, and though it brought added fame to the Swiss as fighting men it did not tend to upHft the national character of the League. Nevertheless, Switzerland's part in crushing Bur- gundy had raised the Confederation high in the esteem of the whole world. France, Italy, the Austrians, and even England (jealous of the favor in which the Swiss held France) made overtures for the League's friend- ship. CIVIL STRIFE BREAKS OUT. Flushed with their victory over the Burgundians and somewhat overproud, perhaps, of the praise bestowed on them by Europe, Swiss Cantons began to wrangle among themselves. Disputes arose over the division of 32 the spoils taken in the Burgundian War. Zurich, Bern and Lucerne had forged far ahead of the five country Cantons in wealth, and power and culture, and insisted they should receive the lion's share of the booty. These three cities had thirty-five thousand soldiers in the League's army as against about fifteen thousand supplied by the other Cantons, and it was suggested that the spoils be divided on this basis. The three Cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, anxious to maintain their prestige as the founders of the League, took the initiative in resisting the cities. Meanwhile, Freiburg and Solothurn had appHed for admission to the League as Cantons, and this provoked a new occasion for dispute. Finally a Federal Diet was called to convene at Stanz in Unterwalden on December i8, 1481. Matters had come almost to a breaking point, and it was hoped that at Stanz some way would be found to settle all the diflferences. But, when the representatives of the Cantons met, dissension broke out worse than ever. When it seamed almost that civil war was imminent, the Pastor of Stanz betook himself to the woods where the famous hermit Niklaus von der Flue lived in a cave and was in the habit of advising emissaries sent to him by rulers from all parts of Europe when they were confronted by vex- ing problems. The hermit sent back such sound counsel to Stanz that the representatives of the Cantons composed all their differences and civil strife was averted. The most important decision arrived at in their agree- ment was to admit Freiburg and Solothurn as full-fledged Cantons, thus raising the number of States in the League to ten. 33 REFORMS AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF WALDMANN. In passing, some attention- deserves to be devoted to Hans Waldmann, who, as Burgomaster of Zurich, left an indehble impression on the development of the Swiss nation. Born in Zug, Waldmann came to Zurich as a youth of sixteen, bought citizenship there and rapidly rose to prominence, although he had begun his career as a tanner. He was knighted while with the Swiss army at Grandson and, it will be remembered, led the force of ten thousand Zurich soldiers who played such havoc with the Burgundians at Morat. Waldmann had urgently advocated the Swiss League going to the aid of Rene in Lorraine and, when the Diet turned down the proposal, put himself at the head of the eight thousand mercenaries who took Nancy. Upon his return after the war he was made Burgo- master and devoted himself to increasing the power of the craftsmen's guilds and lessening that of the nobles. Going further than his predecessor Brun, who had equal- ized the representation of the guilds and nobles in the council, Waldmann established the guilds in the majority. He raised Zurich to the zenith of her power and often styled himself King of the Swiss. Emperor and Pope realized his power and on more than one occasion bowed to his dictates. Following an uprising of the peasants of the country districts around the city of Zurich, Waldmann was exe- cuted in 1489. His most lasting accomplishments had been to restore the liberties of the people of Zurich and to establish its authority over the surrounding territory. SWISS FREED FROM CONTROL OF EMPIRE. The Swabian War, occurring at the close of the fif- teenth century, resulted in Switzerland finally breaking 34 .Mm ^^ ^ I 1 * 1 her bonds of allegiance to the empire. The Emperor Maximilian, who was a Hapsburg, had commanded the Swiss to join the Swabian Bund, organized by German nobles. The Swiss, Hke Americans three hundred years later, objected to putting themselves under a government in which they would not be represented, and refused. About this time the people of Graubiinden, fearing Aus- trian aggression, asked to be taken in under the protec- tion of the League. Their request was granted and the Tyrolese state made war on the Swiss as a result, seek- ing and receiving the help of the Swabian Bund. Battles were soon being fought all along the Rhine from Basel to Graubiinden. Forces of Emperor Maximilian were badly defeated and on ten occasions the Swiss routed the Swabians, only suflFering defeat twice themselves. The story of the Swabian War is rich with heroic exploits and military accomplishments. It went a long way in still further adding to the prestige of the Swiss as a people in arms. By the treaty of Basel in September, 1499, peace was reestablished and the League increased its territory con- siderably. CANTONS INCREASED TO THIRTEEN. In 1 501 Basel and Schaffhausen were admitted as Cantons. Basel, in particular, was an important acquisi- tion for she was a thriving center of trade, was very rich and her university had been a noted seat of learning since its establishment in 1460. Appenzell was admitted as the thirteenth Canton in 15 1 3. The Prince-Abbot of St. Gall, who had ruled Ap- penzell, protested vigorously, but the League did not 35 heed his objections in this opportunity to increase its own strength. No further additions were made to the League until the Napoleonic era at the beginning of the nineteenth century. SWISS FREE AND THEIR FAVOR SOUGHT. The treaty of Basel had the effect of freeing the Cantons from the control of the Empire even though it did not specifically provide for that. Thenceforth the League was virtually a sovereign nation, although it was not until the Peace of Westphalia, a century and a half later, that its autonomy was formally acknowledged by Austria. The Swabian War had so impressed neighboring states with the superiority of Swiss arms, that Wur- temberg and Bavaria hastened to conclude alliances with the League. Even Emperor Maximilian made the strong- est protestations of friendship for the sturdy Alpine people who had frustrated his designs of conquest. Charles VIIL, upon his accession to the throne of France, enlisted the aid of the Swiss in his campaign to conquer Naples. This was the beginning of Swiss merce- nary service in Italy, first for the monarchs of France and then for the Pope. Charles took Naples largely through the assistance the Swiss gave him, and his suc- cessor, Louis XIL, utilized their military strength to con- quer Milan. Louis had promised to cede Bellinzona to the League in return for its aid in the Italian War, but did not keep his word. Consequently when Matthaeus Schinner, a priest of Upper Valais who had risen to the rank of Cardinal, urged them to join in a five-years' alliance with Pope 36 Julius II. for the purpose of driving the French from Italy, the Swiss readily accepted the invitation. SWISS DRIVE FRENCH FROM ITALY. In the service of the Papal See the Swiss mercenaries retook Milan in 1512 from their former allies. Zwingli, the great reformer, tells how the ambassador of the other great powers appeared as suppliants before the victori- ous Swiss, pleading for consideration in the expected division of the Duchy of Milan. But the Swiss decided to return the Duchy to Maximilian Sforza, from whom the French had taken it. Out of gratitude, Sforza ceded Lugano, Locarno and other territory to the League. At Novaro, in 1513, the Swiss, still in the service of the Pope, decisively defeated Louis's attempt to regain Milan, and when Francis I. ascended the throne of France, he thought it would be discreet to secure the neutrality of the League before endeavoring to redeem the lost Italian possessions of his house. Bern, Freiburg and Solothurn agreed to the proposals of Francis and recalled their troops from Italy. When the other Cantons were on the verge of doing the same thing, Cardinal Schinner induced them to change their minds, and the prelate himself led the Swiss troops to battle at Marignano on September 13th, 15 15. From morning until night the Swiss battled with the French without any decisive advantages accruing to either. At dark the opposing forces rested on their arms, only to renew the conflict more furiously at the dawn of the next day. For the first time in his life the Chevalier Bayard was put to flight, by the Swiss war- riors. A Swiss attack began the second day's battle and several times it seemed that victory was about to 27 be theirs, but the French had opened nearby dykes, flood- ing the ground occupied by their opponents. To add to the seriousness of the situation, a large force of Vene- tians arrived at this juncture and threatened to cut off the Swiss retreat. Under the circumstances there was nothing to do but retire, and this the Swiss army did in such perfect order, taking their wounded, guns and banners with them, that Francis would not permit his troops to pursue them, so filled with admiration was he for their splendid military organization. Though the Italian wars had been characterized by mercenary service rather than by national spirit of the Swiss, the League had made through them important acquisitions, namely, Ticino, Valtellina and Chiavenna. THE END OF A GLORIOUS PERIOD. But the day of Swiss military ascendancy in Europe was over. True, the defeat at Marignano was almost as glorious as a victory and its result was to join the Swiss and French in the closest bonds of friendship. Yet, from that time on, France, not the Swiss League, was supreme. By the time the number of Cantons in the League had reached thirteen their governmental affairs had be- come fairly well defined. Each urban Canton was ruled by a Grand Council, while the country Cantons were governed in most instances by their "Landsgemeinden." The latter were pure democracies, the Landsgemeinde having its root among the ancient Greeks, and being a development of the "Volksversammlung" of the old Ger- man tribes, an assemblage of the entire people to decide important questions. The council of the city Cantons, on the other hand, was more aristocratic, being made 38 up of representatives of the different classes in the community. The Landsgemeinde exists to this day in Uri, Appen- zell, Glarus, Obwalden and Nidwalden. Presided over by the Landammann, the citizens assemble on the last Sunday in April, hold religious service, march in a parade and then proceed to inspect the yearly accounts of the Can- tons, elect magistrates and other officials for the ensuing year, and amend and enact laws. CENTRAL GOVERNMENT OF THE FEDERATION. The source of central authority was the Diet, or Tagsatzung. Each Canton had one representative in the Tagsatzung which met by turn at each of the principal towns. The position of Canton Director was usually held by the representative from Zurich, and he presided over the sessions. Ambassadors from foreign powers frequently attended the sessions of the Diet, especially after the friendship of the Swiss became a thing so much to be desired. During the fifteenth century the Tagsatzung often took on the aspect of an international congress. But from 1 5 13 to the time of its abolishment in 1848 it ex- erted less influence on European affairs. All during the sixteenth century Switzerland was swept by the religious strife that characterized the Ref- ormation. Zwingli, Calvin and Bullinger were reformers whose names were well known in all Europe. Though inter- esting from a historical standpoint, the events of that time bear little significance to the Republic's military development. 39 INFLUENCE OF FRENCH ABSOLUTISM. In the seventeenth century Switzerland fell strongly under the influence of Louis XIV. of France, the high priest of absolutism. Indeed, the Swiss Cantons were in danger of becoming subject to Louis, and their own government began to take on an aristocratic tinge. Switzerland succeeded in remaining neutral during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), although her ter- ritory was invaded on several occasions by the belliger- ents, especially the Swedes. The Peace of Westphalia, which closed the Thirty Years' War, formally ratified the independence of the Swiss Cantons. This recognition of Swiss autonomy was chiefly due to the eflforts of Burgomaster Wettstein of Basel, and Henry, Count of Orleans, representative of France at the peace congress. This service tended to still further unite the Swiss and the French in bonds of friendship. Swiss mercenaries were some of the best soldiers Louis XIV, had, and Swiss envoys, to their shame, fre- quently permitted themselves to be bribed by Louis. In 1663 the Swiss alliance with France was renewed and its terms were all in favor of France. However, the Swiss had been giving refuge to the Huguenots and other religious exiles from France, Geneva especially bidding them welcome. Educated to the real character of Louis by these exiles, the Swiss gradually began to feel ashamed of their dealings with the monarch, and, in 1689, returning envoys to Paris were greeted as heroes in Bern and Zurich because they had rejected Louis' bribes. In the course of time the alliance with France became a dead letter, although Swiss mercenary service continued to run its evil course. 40 STRUGGLES FOR CLASS SUPREMACY. The eighteenth century in Switzerland is chiefly featured by the attempts of the aristocratic classes to attain supremacy in the Cantons, even asserting their claims to overrule the "Landsgemeinden" in the country Cantons. The peasants were oppressed and many uprisings took place. At the same time the old religious disputes con- tinued to rage. Bern was the stronghold of Swiss aris- tocracy when Napoleon Bonaparte began to make his power felt in the lands surrounding France. The French Revolution itself had had marked effect in Switzerland, raising the desire for ''liberty and equality" in the breasts of Alpine peasants. On the other hand, the massacre of the Swiss Guards, who defended French royalty at the Tuileries against the Paris mob, and were slaught- ered rather than surrender, aroused indignation in Swit- zerland. NAPOLEON TURNS TO SWISS AFFAIRS. Meanwhile, the Helvetic Club had been organized in Paris by discontented Swiss bent on freeing their native land from the rule of the aristocracy. This club at- tracted the attention of Napoleon and the Directory, for they saw in it an opportunity to erect in Switzerland a government that would be in sympathy with and sub- ject to the French Republic. Bern, Freiburg and Solothurn stood against this Napoleonic influence. Peter Ochs of Basel, a brilliant man who had fallen under the domination of Bonaparte, was called to Paris to draft a new constitution for Switzerland, Napoleon having determined to dictate its governmental affairs. In January 1798 the Tagsatzung 41 met and vainly tried to bolster up Swiss national spirit, but it was useless to try to stem the coming storm. The Tagsatzung adjourned in confusion on February ist. Bonaparte sent Brune in command of a French force against Bern. Solothurn and Freiburg, Bern's chief supporters, surrendered to Brune, and Bern had no help from the other Cantons. The Bernese put up a desper- ate resistance and, indeed, scored some preliminary vic- tories over the French, but the latter entered the city on March 5th. The Directory did away with the old Swiss League and established in its place the **One and Undivided Helvetic Republic," compelling the adoption of the con- stitution drafted by Ochs. The Cantons were re-divided, twenty-two of them in all being established. Aarau, Lucerne and Bern in turn were made capitals of the new Republic. Legislative power was vested in a Senate and Grand Council, and executive authority in a Di- rectory of five members and a Ministry of four. BONAPARTE'S SUBJECTION OF SWITZERLAND. The city Cantons submitted to the new government, but the country districts made stout resistance. The Forest Cantons, especially, opposed French domination, and the men of Schwyz, under the young officer Reding, gained noteworthy victories over the French at Schin- dellegi, Arth and Morgarten. On September 9, 1798, a French force of sixteen thousand under Schauenburg was met by two thousand Swiss near Stanz. Even the women and children helped fight the invaders and held them off for two days. But after a terrible slaughter Stanz itself was taken and, for the time being, Swiss independence was at an end. 42 As a punishment for this resistance Napoleon combined the three Forest Cantons and Zug into one, thus redu- cing the number to nineteen. The *'One and Undivided Helvetic Republic" endured for five years until 1803. The Napoleonic idea of com- pletely centralizing the Swiss government was doomed to failure from the start. The country Cantons lost their ''Landsgemeinden," the cities were deprived of their council, and the whole scheme of government that had been built up through so many generations was knocked down at one stroke. Nevertheless, many beneficial reforms were instituted during the days of the Helvetic Republic, and new ideas were born that crystallized into reality a half-century later. The residents of subject lands were granted equal rights of citizenship with those of the rest of the state, limitations on trade were lifted and freedom of worship, of the press and speech were guaranteed. Yet these guarantees of liberty were violated as creatures of the French gained control of the Swiss Directory. Among these latter was Ochs, the tool of Napoleon. Bonaparte's design was to put Switzerland into complete submission to himself. He commanded the Swiss to furnish eighteen thousand soldiers for his army. This levy caused an uproar in Switzerland, thou- sands of the Swiss hiring themselves as mercenaries in the service of Napoleon's foes. Numerous patriots like Reding and Lavater were thrown into prison. ALLIES INVADE SWITZERLAND. Napoleon compelled the Helvetic Republic to enter into an offensive and defensive alliance with France. This, of course, destroyed Switzerland's status as a 43 neutral state and she was straightway invaded by the Austrian and Russian, enemies of Bonaparte. This situation naturally brings to mind the splendidly immune condition in which Switzerland finds herself to- day. In 1798 her neutrality could be wiped out at the whim of a tyrant; in 1914 her own efficient military sys- tem was enough to defend her neutrality against the designs of any or all the great powers of Europe. The conservatives among the Swiss welcomed the invaders as joyously as the radicals had greeted the French liberators. Switzerland was occupied and turned into a military camp. But the Austro-Russian alpine campaign was a failure. Napoleon's generals succeeded in driving them from the country, and the Helvetic Re- public still stood. Napoleon kept his army of occupation in Switzer- land, and the unmeasured looting of the Swiss people that was carried on to provision the troops caused a revulsion of feeling against the French and the govern- ment of the Helvetic Republic. The Swiss Directory was overthrown four times in uprisings during the five years up to 1803. The most serious disturbance took place right after the French troops were withdrawn in July, 1802. The members of the Helvetic government were forced to flee from their seat at Bern to Lausanne. At this juncture Napoleon offered to act as "mediator," and Marshal Ney led forty thousand soldiers to Switzerland to enforce order. Napoleon evidently realized that the Helvetic Re- pubHc, as he had constituted it, could not endure. The majority of the Cantons bitterly resented having been deprived of all self-government for the purpose of com- 44 pletely centralizing authority. Early in 1803 Napoleon summoned sixty-three delegates from the Cantons to confer with him at Paris. Though forty-eight of these delegates were pronounced Federalists, the Emperor showed no inclination to ride rough-shod over the de- sires of the conservatives. THE MEDIATION ACTS. Under the plan finally adopted, central authority was maintained in the creation of a Tagsatzung with wide powers, but at the same time the *'Landsgemeinden" were restored to the Forest Cantons, the Councils to the cities, and those districts that had been subject lands before the day of the Helvetic Republic were granted full self-government. Graubiinden, St. Gall, Thurgau, Aargau, Vaud and Ticino were created Cantons and admitted on an equal footing with the other thirteen. The Cantons were for- bidden to wage wars one with another, or to enter into separate alliances. Mercenary wars were strictly pro- hibited and Napoleon saw to it that there was a provi- sion in the new constitution preventing the Federal gov- ernment from maintaining any larger military force than was necessary to preserve mere law and order within the country. Cantons whose population exceeded one hundred thousand were given two votes each in the Tagsatzung, while the smaller Cantons each had one vote. Regardless of Napoleon's aims, the Mediation act period (1803-1815) was one of peace for Switzerland, while the rest of Europe was drenched in blood. The effect was a distinct gain for the alpine nation. Schools, agricultural colleges and institutions of letters, art, music and science, developing noteworthy novelists, poets, mu- 45 sicians, artists and educators, sprang up. Pestalozzi and his disciples accomplished .much of their great work of educational advancement during this period. Escher, an aristocrat who devoted his talents, wealth, and finally sacrificed his life in the interests of the poorer classes, constructed the canal between Walensee and the lake of Zurich, thus draining twenty-eight thousand acres of swamp land. The introduction of machinery caused trade to take long steps forward and Switzerland be- came a hive of industry. Spinning mills, forerunners of Switzerland's great industry of today, had their be- ginning at about this time in St. Gall. Nevertheless, there was still much cause for com- plaint. Napoleon compelled the Swiss to furnish sixteen thousand soldiers for constant service in his army, and this levy and the taxes imposed fell hard on the peasants. Toward 1812 signs of rebellion had culminated in open defiance of Napoleon by Reding and other patriots on the floor of the Tagsatzung. But any plans of punish- ment Napoleon may have had in mind vanished with his disastrous Russian campaign. Then followed the Battle of Leipzig, Napoleon's abdication and the entry of the Allies into Paris. The Swiss, satisfied with their form of government, although not at the way in which it had always been administered, refused to join forces with the Holy Alliance. NAPOLEON'S WORK UNDONE. The little Swiss army of fifteen thousand was placed on the border in the hope that the country's neutrality might be protected, but when one hundred and seventy thousand Germans and Austrians appeared on their march to Paris the idea of resistance was abandoned. 46 The Allies did little damage to the country itself on their way through, but on December 29, 181 3, the Tagsatzung was compelled to abolish itself, and Napoleon's Media- tion Act was wiped out. By the peace of Paris, May 31, 1814, the independ- ence of Switzerland was ratified by the conquerors of Bonaparte. With the overthrow of the Mediation Act, civil strife, the old warfare between conservatives and radicals, broke out anew in Switzerland. Bern reasserted her claim to sovereignty over Vaud and Aargau, and was sup- ported in her contention by Freiburg, Lucerne, Solo- thurn and the Forest Cantons. Zurich took the lead in standing out for maintaining the existence of the full nineteen Cantons. The result was, there were for a time two governments in Switzerland, each with a separate Diet. Finally a joint congress was arranged to meet at Zurich and endeavor to reach a compromise. This meet- ing is known as the Long Diet, for it sat for more than a year, and was characterized by constant and acrimoni- ous bickerings. The constitution for a reunited Switzerland was still incomplete in many important particulars when it was submitted to the Vienna Congress, met to rearrange the map of Europe, for approval. VIENNA CONGRESS TAKES A HAND. The representatives of the allied nations saw in an independent Switzerland a strong barrier against France, so they set about with a will adjusting the points of dispute among the Cantons. Bern was moUified with the addition of some extra territory, and surrendered 47 her claims to Vaud and Aargau. Valais, Geneva and Neuchatel were added as Cantons, bringing the total up to twenty-two, where it stands today. The constitution of 1815 restored many of the privi- leges of the aristocratic classes, and several of the Can- tons were given sovereign power at the expense of the central government, although a Tagsatzung composed of one representative from each Canton was provided for. The cities were permitted to largely retain their su- premacy over the people of surrounding country districts. For thirty-three years Switzerland was governed un- der the constitution given her by the Congress of Vienna. This period splits into two divisions, that from 181 5 to 1830, and 1830-1848. During the first fifteen years the great mass of the Swiss people passively submitted to the politicial reaction that had set in. But even then a number of the apostles of liberalism were at work, political clubs were organized and the seeds planted that were later to blossom into the dem- ocratic Switzerland of today. But if political progress was at a standstill, considerable advancement was made along military lines during the years following 181 5. The central school for army officers was estabHshed at Thun, and the Federal army was increased from fifteen thou- sand to thirty thousand men. EFFECTS OF THE REVOLUTION OF 1830. The French Revolution of 1830 had a marked in- fluence on Switzerland. The yearnings for equality which had been smothered at the beginning of the cen- tury began to show themselves anew all over Europe, Switzerland included. The Cantons, with the exception of Glarus, Uri, and Unterwalden, proceeded to revise 48 their fundamental laws. Even Bern, old stronghold of the reactionaries, grew progressive. Zurich made her Council truly representative by giving the citizens of her country districts two-thirds of its membership. Uni- versities and high schools were founded throughout the country, and material progress was made in learning and culture. The eighteen-year period following 1830 was one of regeneration, and equipped the Swiss people to take advantage of their opportunity in 1848. The only discordant note during these years was the warfare that broke out again between Catholic and Protestants. So intense did the religious controversy become that the Protestant Cantons formed a league among themselves known as the Siebner-Concordat. In opposition to this the Catholic League was organized by those Cantons which had not embraced the Reforma- tion doctrines. An attempt in 1832 to strengthen the power of the Federal government was defeated in the Diet, largely because of these religious animosities. SONDERBUND WAR. The trouble culminated in the Sonderbund War of 1847. This struggle was essentially one between the old forces of reaction and those of liberalism, but it was intensified by the religious squabbles between Catholics and Protestants. Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Zug, Frei- burg and Valais had formed a new League, standing for the things that the old Catholic League had repre- sented. In 1847 the Protestants gained majority in the Diet, and that body ordered the six Cantons to dissolve their Bund. Civil war was inevitable. France, Austria, and Germany sided with the Sonderbund. England favored the Protestants and rendered them a great ser- 49 vice by delaying action against the Swiss by the Powers. The Sonderbund prepared for the struggle, raising an army of seventy-five thousand. The fact that General Salis-Soglio, a Protestant from Biinden, was placed in command of the Sonderbund indicates that religious ani- mosity was not, after all, the chief cause of the strife. The Diet raised ninety-eight thousand soldiers and placed General Dufour of Geneva in command. Dufour was an exceptionally able tactician and was of the old Napoleonic school of soldiers. It was under his direction that the Swiss topographical maps, still in existence, and the first of their kind, were made. Dufour's prose- cution of the campaign was so successful that it only lasted twenty-five days, from November 4th to Novem- ber 29th. Losses were not great on either side and Dufour was hailed as the national hero, even by the people of the Sonderbund, who had become easily re- conciled to their defeat. No more striking proof of the real unity of the Swiss people could he had than the fact that hut two months after the close of this civil war, when revolution held sway throughout all the neighhoring states and Switzer- land zvas threatened with invasion, Catholic and Protes- tant, reactionary and liheral, the men from the cities and those from the country districts, rallied to the colors with equal patriotic zeal, their only rivalry to show zvhich would do the most for their native land. The same splendid spirit of "one for all and all for one" has pre- vailed in Switzerland ever since. 50 The Picturesque City of Thun, with the Castle. HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. II. SINCE 1848. IMPORTANT LEGISLATION. With the splendid example of self-immolation of the once warring faiths and parties behind them, small wonder the representatives of the Swiss who met at Bern in 1848 to frame a fundamental law for a reunited people were imbued with a high resolve that lives even to this day in the document that stands as the bulwark of Swiss freedom, law and justice. In many respects the Swiss Constitution of 1848 is modelled after the Constitution of the United States. That it is, generally speaking, more democratic and pro- gressive then our Constitution may be laid to the fact that it was drafted three-quarters of a century later than was ours. STRUCTURE OF SWISS GOVERNMENT. The Federal law-making body consists of the ''Na- tionalrat" corresponding to our House of Representa- tives, to which districts of 20,000 inhabitants elect each one member; and the "Stdnderat," taking the place of the American Senate, in which each Canton is entitled to two members. Laws must be adopted separately by the two cham- bers. The two houses meet jointly — Federal Assembly — 51 to elect members of the Federal Council, Federal Court and the General of the Army. The executive authority is placed in the hands of a body of seven men, called "Bundesrat" (Federal Council) . The chairman of this body is the President of the Republic. He is elected for one year and cannot suc- ceed himself. The triennial election of the members of the Bundesrat is in practice a mere reelection, unless a member resigns or dies during the years of administra- tion, necessitating the election of a new member. The business of the Federal Council is arranged in seven departments, with one member as the head of each. The Federal Council and Federal Assembly meet in Bern, the capital of the Swiss Republic. The highest Federal judicial authority is the "Bun- desgericht" {Federal Court) consisting of 24 judges and 9 alternates. It sits in Lausanne. The continued successful existence of a democracy demands that every citizen take a thorough interest in public affairs. The average Swiss considers he is in duty bound to interest himself in the affairs of the State to such a degree that he uses his ballot at each election. In many a Canton the right of vote is coupled with the duty to do so, and failure to vote is penalized. Several times since 1848 changes in the military arti- cles of the constitution have been made and, of course, all such changes had to be submitted to a referendum. Not always were the proposed measures acted favorably upon by the people, and in some instances they had to be brought to a vote time and time again, frequently greatly modified, until the people finally enacted them. 52 Because the people had a chance to adopt or reject laws pertaining to defense, the Swiss military system is a practical and popular one. CANTONAL GOVERNMENT. In the Cantons the executive power is exercised by a body of from five to seven men, instead of a Governor as in our States, called the "Cantonsrat." The legislature of each Canton has but a single chamber, and is called the "Grosse Rat." Switzerland has three official languages, German. French and Italian. German is spoken by 2,500,000 inhabitants of the Cantons of Bern, Lucerne, Zurich, Basel, Solothurn, Zug, Aargau, Thurgau, St. Gallen, Appenzell, Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Glarus, Schaff- hausen and the greater part of Graubiinden. French by 800,000 inhabitants of the Cantons of Geneva, Vaud, Valais, Neuchatel, and Freiburg; Italian by 300,000 in- habitants of the Canton Ticino and part of Graubiinden and Valais. The official language in the German-speaking Cantons is German, in the French-speaking is French, and in the Canton Ticino is Italian. In debates of the national government bodies any one of the three languages can be used, as almost every representative masters all of them. TRANSITION FROM PURE DEMOCRACY. We have seen how, in the early development of the Swiss Republic the country Cantons were governed through "Landsgemeinden," assemblages of all the male adults. To this day, in Uri and in other remote sections of Switzerland the Landsgemeinde still exists, but for 53 the most part this form of pure democracy has given way to representative govei:nment. The transition was made necessary by growth of population and the more complex affairs of the modern nation. But the Swiss, though realizing they could not con- tinue to govern themselves through cantonal assemblages, were chary about delegating to their representatives power so absolute that they, themselves, would have no direct voice in public affairs. Hence, the Initiative and Referendum were incorporated as fundamental princi- ples of Switzerland's government. The American people are witnesses to the evils that spring up in so-called representative government where, because the people have no curb upon their officials during their terms of office, they cease to be representa- tive of the people. Professional politicians, political bosses and private interests exercise greater control over many a public official than do the voters who placed him in office and who pay the taxes to run the government. SOUND RADICALISM OF THE SWISS. It was, then, a critical juncture in Switzerland's national development when conditions necessitated that simple democracy be replaced by the representative form of government. No doubt, had the molders of her desti- ny had less faith in the ability of the people to rule themselves, had they been timid conservatives instead of sound radicals, the Initiative and Referendum would not have been established, and the plant of Swiss re- publicanism would have been handicapped in its growth. Every Canton except Freiburg has some form of the Referendum in its constitution. On certain questions 54 the Referendum is compulsory; that is, proposed legis- lation coming under the prescribed class must be ap- proved by a vote of the people before it becomes law. In other cases the people have the option, by petition, of preventing the final enactment of a measure until they have voted on it. The constitution of the republic provides for both compulsory and optional referendum on Federal legis- lation. Proposed constitutional amendments must be submitted to a popular vote and adopted before they are in effect. If the two houses of the Federal legis- lature agree upon a constitutional amendment it is then submitted to a vote of the people of all the Cantons, and if it receives a majority of the entire popular vote and also receives a majority in twelve of the twenty- two Cantons, it is incorporated in the constitution. However, if the two houses cannot agree on the ques- tion of an amendment, or if 50,000 voters petition for an amendment in the absence of any action by either house, then it is submitted to the people to decide whether there shall be any amendment at all. If they vote in the affirmative the Federal legislature is dis- solved, new elections are held, the Executive Council prepares the amendment and submits it to the incoming legislature who, in turn, places it before the people for final adoption or rejection at a Referendum. THE REFERENDUM. Article 89 of the constitution provides for the exer- cise of the optional Referendum on Federal laws. A petition signed by 30,000 voters requires the submission of any proposed Federal statute, not of an immediately urgent nature, to a Referendum. The same course must 55 be taken when eight Cantons, through their legislative bodies, demand a popular vote upon any proposed Feder- al enactment. Cantonal Referendum systems are of wide variety, being hardly identical in any two states. They range all the way from the system in vogue in Valais, where only propositions entailing an expenditure of more than $12,000 are submitted to the Referendum, to that in the half-Canton of Basselland where almost every measure passed by the legislature must be submitted to a vote of the people. A rude form of the Referendum existed in the Can- tons of Graubiinden and Valais in the sixteenth century. The modern Referendum was first adopted by the Can- ton of St. Gall in 1830. It was called the Veto, and provided that proposed laws should be submitted to a popular vote whenever a certain number of citizens so demanded. Other Cantons lost no time in adopting this innovation and it soon became almost universal throughout the republic. In America the Referendum is considered by many to be a revolutionary and extremely radical idea. Radi- cal it may be in the direction of returning to the people real self-government, but its results in Switzerland have never been so radical that they have exceeded the bounds of sound common sense in government. The Refer- endum in Switzerland has been radical in its prevention of public extravagances ; in the opportunity it has given the people who pay the taxes to see to it that their money is not squandered in sinecure jobs and graft; but that kind of result is deemed unduly radical only by those who find no chance for public plunder when the people really rule themselves. DIRECT GOVERNMENT SUCCESSFUL. Insofar as untried innovations, experiments and im- practicable measures are concerned, the Swiss people have shown themselves as conservative in the exercise of the Referendum as any graybeard solon who ever sat in a senate. The application of the Referendum has been an educating force in Switzerland and has trained her citi- zens to take an active, thoughtful interest in public af- fairs. The people discuss the questions to be put before them and, as a rule, vote intelligently upon them, there being none of the blind partisan considerations th,at influence suffrage for candidates. Where the Referendum is in vogue legislators soon learn that it is inexpedient as well as useless for them to try to enact undesirable laws. For not only will the voters, in all probability, kill vicious measures, but the very publicity attendant upon a Referendum is sure to attract unenviable attention to the officials who sponsored the bad law. The natural result is that men in office conduct themselves with an eye to the opinion of their constituents, and a high type of men, generally speaking, are elected to office. THE INITIATIVE. Seventeen of the twenty-two Swiss Cantons have complemented the Referendum with the Initiative. Thus, not only can the people themselves prevent bad legislation, but they can propose and enact any laws they desire which their legislative bodies have not seen fit to give them. The Canton of Vaud was the pioneer in adopting the Initiative in 1845. It was not a success there at 57 first because the Referendum was not also in force. The Initiative has always been a iailure unless accompanied by the Referendum. The incorporation into the Federal Constitution in 1891 of a provision permitting constitutional amend- ments to be proposed through the Initiative was a mile- stone in the progress of democracy. It was another of those radical measures, the radicalism of which con- sists of the opportunity they afford for real popular government. The language of article 121 of the Federal Consti- tution explains as nearly as could be the means by which Swiss citizens can amend their own fundamental law without the intervention of representatives. It is direct government in its purest and most workable form. Arti- cle 121 reads as follows: CONSTITUTION CAN BE AMENDED BY THE PEOPLE. 'The Popular Initiative may be used when 50,000 Swiss voters present a petition for the enactment, the abolition, or alteration of certain articles of the Federal Constitution. "When several different subjects are proposed for amendment or for enactment in the Federal Constitution by means of the Popular Initiative, each must form the subject of a special petition. ''Petitions may be represented in the form of general suggestions or of a finished bill. When a petition is presented in the form of a general suggestion, and the Federal Assembly agrees thereto, it is the duty of that body to elaborate a partial amendment in the sense of the Initiators, and to refer it to the people and the 58 Cantons for acceptance or rejection. If the Federal Assembly does not agree to the petition, then the ques- tion of whether there shall be a partial amendment at all must be submitted to the vote of the people, and if the majority of the Swiss voters express themselves in the affirmative, the amendment must be taken in hand by the Federal Assembly in the sense of the people. "When a petition is presented in the form of a finished bill, and the Federal Assembly agrees thereto, the bill must be referred to the people and the Cantons for acceptance or rejection. In case the Federal As- sembly does not agree, that body can elaborate a bill of its own, or move to reject the petition, and submit its own bill or motion of rejection to the vote of the people and the Cantons along with the petition." EARLY SEEDS OF DIRECT GOVERNMENT. From time immemorial the principle, thought not the form, of the Initiative had existed in those Cantons governed by "Landsgemeinden." But the right of the voters to initiate legislation even in those Cantons was limited and restricted to such an extent that, in some cases, it was almost nullified. It was really not until Vaud made the experiment and Aargau followed suit a few years later that the Initiative, as it is now under- stood, was established in Switzerland. Of the two Cantons and four half-Cantons still governed by "Landsgemeinden," Uri, and Inner-Rhoden permit any voter to submit proposals at the cantonal assemblage ; Obwalden, Nidwalden and Glarus limit pro- posals to such as do not conflict with the constitution of the Federation or the Canton ; in Outer-Rhoden initi- atory legislation must be proposed by a body of voters 59 equal in number to elect the members of the cantonal council. The Initiative and Referendum in Switzerland have not compromised the rightful exercise of authority by legislative bodies, but direct legislation has served to improve both the acts of men in office and the calibre of officials themselves. THE SWISS PEOPLE AND MILITARY LEGISLATION. Much of Switzerland's progress in mihtary prepared- ness is due to the hard common sense of the Swiss people in exercising their powers of direct legislation on that subject. With the final say as to military matters, lying with the people themselves, they have chosen the sen- sible middle course, sufficiently providing for their de- fense without veering either to the side of militarism on the one hand, or that of pacifism on the other. Is it too much to expect that the American people when finally, directly or indirectly, they have the oppor- tunity of shaping this republic's preparedness program, will perform that duty just as capably and as wisely and as adequately as have the Swiss? Laws such as only a few of the more progressive States of democratic America can boast and which, pro- posed even in some section of our own country, are immediately frowned upon as extremely radical and socialistic, have a fixed place on the statute books of Switzerland, where the theories of democracy are trans- lated into a definite, active, workable program. PROGRESSIVE LAWS OF THE SWISS. Step by step, often with the direct approval of the people themselves, as expressed in Initiative and Refer- 60 endum, the law -builders of the Swiss Republic have erected a structure that bids fair to stand any test to which outright and direct democracy is likely ever to be subjected. More than that, the Swiss Civil Law is a long arm reaching out to obtain for every man, woman and child, of high or low degree, rich or poor, the exaction from every other of his obhgation; and it stands, as well, as a firm buttress, protecting the weak against the unjust encroachments of the powerful. It is evenly balanced, not, as some might think, framed to override the rights of vested interests; but always, to a nicety, reasonably subordinating private interests to public welfare, proper- ty to man. For the Swiss are sober, unemotional. They do not permit passion or prejudice to run away with sound judgment. In laying the foundation for the legal struc- ture they knew must stand severe testing, they remem- bered that they must "build their house on the rock." Because it is so apt an illustration of the evenly balanced, levelling effect of the principles of Swiss law, the "Ohligations-Recht," or Law of Obligation, stands out as a model. This statute was adopted in January, 1883, and is most sweeping in its provisions, governing almost every relationship or transaction into which human be- ings can enter. While protecting the right of a tenant to the reasonable enjoyment of his tenancy, it does not neglect that of the landlord. The small stockholder in a corporation finds his investment secure from mis- handling, but the directors are not hampered in their legitimate ambitions to extend their business. The rules governing the relations of master and servant, employer, are just to both ; each, generally speaking, being required 61 to give the other fourteen days' notice of termination of the employment. In brief, the Law of ObHgation does just what its title signifies: requires every person to live up to his obligations, and provides the means whereby he can com- pel others to live up to theirs. That can hardly be con- sidered extremely radical except to such whose idea of conservatism is to be let alone in their refusal to dis- charge their duties toward their fellows. The unfortu- nate, but undeniable fact that a large element among our men of big moneyed interests are endowed with just this disregard for the rights of the weaker citizen and the public in general is no doubt responsible for the out- raged cry of "Radicalism !" from such quarters whenever is heard the suggestion for the enactment of advanced legislation in the direction of enforcing equal rights for all of us. CIVIL RIGHTS OF WOMEN. In the marriage relation, too, things are equalized in Switzerland. A married woman has full civil rights, and can enjoy unhindered all the benefits from her sepa- rate property, whether real or personal. The Civil Law proper, adopted in 191 2, guarantees these equal rights to men and women, and it does many things that regu- late the family. Every person is compelled by law to support his dependant children, grandchildren, parents or grandparents. Promise to marry is not deemed a bind- ing contract, and damages for breach of promise cannot be recovered. Heirs-at-law, except for the gravest of reasons, can- not be entirely disinherited under the Swiss Civil Law. A child can be cut down in his parent's will only to 62 three-quarters of what his share would have been had there been no will; a parent can be cut down to one- half, and a brother or sister to one-fourth. The right of dower obtains, and that fact, considering married women have full civil rights, rather gives the female of the species in Switzerland something the better of it. INSURANCE REGULATION. In 19 1 o a statute was passed, stringently regulating the conduct of life, fire and other insurance branches. The government has laid down all-inclusive rules for provisions of insurance policies, so that it is well-nigh impossible for an insured person to be euchered out of his benefits by technicality. WORKMEN'S INSURANCE. A far-reaching departure was taken in 191 1 when the Swiss people at a Referendum adopted an employee's insurance and compensation law that makes the State, the employer and the employee partners in an enterprise of the widest scope and of inestimable good to the great mass of the people. Of the money paid into the fund from which sick or disabled workmen cash in their poli- cies, the government contributes twenty per cent., and the employers and employees forty per cent. each. An employee needs not to be injured in the perform- ance of his work to gain this benefit, as is the case under the employer's liability laws in force in many American States. Ordinary sickness that incapacitates him for labor entitles him to the full measure of payment. For the first ninety days of his disability he receives two- thirds of his regular wages, and one-half for the balance 63 of the first year. If the disabiHty be a permanent one he receives a lump sum, sufficient to enable him to em- bark in some business that will sustain him and his family. It is worthy of note that non-citizens employed in Swiss establishments (there are about 60,000 Italian subjects working in the country) are subject to the rule and enjoy the benefits of this governmental insurance system. PUBLIC OWNERSHIP. Public ownership of the pubHc utilities is an es- tablished principle, and one that has worked out with eminent success in Switzerland. In 1897 the people voted to take over the Swiss railroads. The majority in favor of the plan was overwhelming, the vote being about five to two. Nineteen years have shown the venture to be a most profitable one, the lines aflfording the government a sizeable revenue. Rolling stock, service and the system in general have been vastly improved since it was taken from private hands, and the railroad employees are better off than they were before. The only obstacle the Swiss government met when it proceeded to take the railroads, was that concerning the relations of the company operating the St. Gothard line with the German and Italian governments. This line runs from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Como, Italy, and forms the shortest route between Germany and Italy. For this reason, when the road was built, it was subsidized to the extent of $12,000,000 by Germany and $6,000,000 by Italy, with the proviso that, after three years, one-half of all yearly profits of operation, exceed- 64 ing six per cent, on the investment, should be paid to these two countries in pro rata shares. The Swiss balked at having to carry out this agree- ment after their own government had taken hold of the road, feeling it would smack too much of paying tribute to foreign countries. After much discussion the matter was settled by the payment of a lump sum to the cor- poration which had operated the road, out of which it made its own settlement with Germany and Italy. In addition, German and Italian freight, it was agreed, should always get the advantage of the minimum rates charged Swiss shippers, and to which other aliens are not entitled. All telegraph and telephone lines in Switzerland are operated by the government and are under the direction of the Post-Office Department. No effort is made to realize a profit from this venture, but no money is lost by it. Should there be at any time a surplus, the rates would in all likelihood be reduced. All alcohol and spirituous liquors are manufactured directly by the government or by firms acting under government concessions. Every cent of revenue derived by the government from this source is used for the main- tenance of the public schools of the various Cantons. CONSERVATION OF RESOURCES. Conservation of forests, streams and other natural resources plays an important part in Swiss governmental functions. The forests of Switzerland are surpassed by none in the world, not even those of Germany, and the Swiss Republic takes good care that so valuable an asset shall never be sacrificed to private greed. Municipalities own their forests, there are Cantonal 65 forests and Federal forest reserves, and the position of forester is a responsible one. The correction of streams in the country is' a project the government fosters and encourages. The Federation pays to the Cantons subsidies up to 50 per cent, of the cost of such improvements, the subsidies amounting to about $4,000,000 each year. Swiss municipalities have followed the example of the parent government in the matter of owning and operating pubHc utilities. Street-car lines, water plants, gas and electric works are all owned by the cities, towns and villages they supply. Returning for the nonce to the Civil Law, we find interesting and progressive legislation in regard to at- tachment and execution of debtors' property and to bankruptcy. Claims for labor are always placed in the first class along with those of the most preferred credit- ors. The others in the first class are the claims of a wife to one-half of the separate fortune she may have brought her husband at their marriage, that of a ward whose guardian has gone bankrupt and involved the ward's property, and claims for medical attendance. The next preferred class comprises claims for necessities of life, such as groceries or clothing. There are three other grades of preferred claims. This law dates from 1888. A clause having a bearing on the military prepared- ness policy of Switzerland is contained in the revision of the Law of Obligation made in 191 2. It provides that no employer shall, under penalty, discharge or otherwise put at a disadvantage any employee because the latter must absent himself from his e'mployment on account of military duties. 66 Geneva, with Rousseau's Isle. DlSENTlS, WJTH THE BENEDICTINE AbBEY AND RAILROAD Station. The terminal of the new Furka Railway, leading from Brig via Gletsch to Discntis. ^-i1 .i « ^.v tEv> _Bi» ^f/3'PM± The Haus zum Ritter, dating from 1570, a late Gothic building in Schaffhaustn. Note the high gable and richly painted fagade. ABSOLUTE POLITICAL EQUALITY. The political rights of the Swiss men are what they should be in a democracy. Every male citizen, except convicts, bankrupt persons (who may be disqualified for a definite period by the courts), and insane persons, are entitled to vote. Women have no vote in Switzerland except at school elections in some Cantons. Equal po- litical rights are guaranteed to all males, no property or class qualifications being in the least recognized. The right to worship God as one's conscience dictates, an ideal identified with Switzerland from the days when harassed religious teachers of all faiths sought an Alpine refuge from their persecutors, holds good to this day to a marked degree. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM UNIMPAIRED. In practically all of the Cantons both Catholic and Protestant churches are the beneficiaries of state aid, the Cantons generally paying one-half the salary of priest and minister in each community. The Protestant population of Switzerland, in round numbers, is 2,500,000; the Catholic is 1,500,000. To a certain extent the religious division of the people is reflected in their alignment, the minority party being the Catholic Conservative, while the Progressive Democratic party is made up chiefly of Protestants. The latter, however, has numerous Catholics in its ranks and some of its greatest leaders have been of that faith. Since the adoption of the 1848 Constitution the Pro- gressive Democratic party has been continually in power, and to its credit must be placed the passage of the bulk 67 of the liberal, democratizing legislation now on the statute hooks. In a general, quite haphazard fashion the foregoing few pages point out some of the distinguishing features of a wonderful fabric of law that has been woven with as great care and looking to the ultimate result as the expert weavers of Zurich exercise in the manufacture of their far-famed silks. It is all to purpose that the reader should be given a glimpse at the Swiss legal system and its workings. A people s character can he read through the laws they make. A nation that has the soher, good sense, the sub- jection to discipline, to enact measures that zvill give to each his equal right; a people, clothed with the pozver to directly govern themselves to the minutest detail of government, who forego the opportunity to zvield that power to oppress interests zvhich zvould almost surely oppress them were democracy in Switzerland merely a name instead of a fact; a citizenry that has the sense of justice to exact from each his proper contribution to the public zveal, cannot be far wrong in any other direction in which it extends its activities. The Swiss, in their good judgment, have created a military system that rivals comparison, that has served to save them from the occurrence of the very contingen- cies for zvhich it zvas meant to provide. Who can doubt that the means chosen by the Swiss in their enactment of law to make democracy a reality might profitably be taken model of by us in America? Why question, then, the starimg truth of the assertion that America must likezvise establish such a military system, if even the measure of democracy zve now enjoy is to be preserved for the future generations? 68 CHAPTER I. Switzerland first to adopt obligatory service in modern times. — Military articles of Constitution of 1848. — Additional changes and improvements up to 1895. — Day of the Swiss pacifists. — Gertsch and Wille. — Temporary triumph of "anti-prepared- ness." — The inevitable reaction : Return of reason in 1907. — Switzerland today the answer to American pacifists. The Federal Constitution adopted in 1848 provided: "Every Swiss is bound to military service" ; thus making Switzerland the first nation in modern times to introduce compulsory service. Prompt measures were taken for national defense after the adoption of the 1848 constitution. Through legislation in 1850, 185 1 and 1853 the number of first line troops was increased to 69,569 and a reserve of 34,785 was created, giving Switzerland an army of 104,354. By 1866 the army had been increased to 199,054. Development of military training and instruc- tion progressed rapidly, and fortifications were erected in Bellinzona near the Italian border, and in Luziensteig on the Austrian frontier. The Federal Government took over the business of instructing the engineer corps, artillery and cavalry, and the training of the instructors of infantry and the higher officers, while the insti'uction itself of the infantry was left to the various Cantons. By still another revision of the constitution in 1874, military administration was further centralized. The army of the Republic was made to consist of the con- tingents from the Cantons. The enrollment of the con- 69 tingents, their care, and the appointment and promotion of the officers remained with the Cantons but was con- trolled by general rules laid down by the Federal Gov- ernment. The latter, however, took over all instruction, training and arming, and reserved the right to enact military legislation. The Cantons were empowered to appoint and promote officers up to the grade of major, but only such as had been awarded Federal certificates of ability. Up till 1895 other changes in military administration took place, but there was yet room for improvement. The officers' societies (membership is compulsory for every officer), especially the younger officers, worked hard to bring about another revision of the military clause of the constitution, having a complete centrali- zation in view. But vast expenditure for the creation of the Land- sturm in 1886, the fortifications around the St. Gotthard and around St. Maurice (these two fortifications alone costing over $7,000,000), the rearming of the infantry (costing over $9,000,000) and demands of some over- zealous instructors, had provoked widespread dissatis- faction through sober Switzerland. These days gave birth to "anti-preparedness." Several influential news- papers nourished the discontent, attacking and seeking to discredit the officers, charging them with the ambition to "Prussianize" the army. A period of over twenty years of peace among the great European powers, the propaganda of the dreamers of "world peace," agitation of foreign-born citizens with socialistic tendencies, who pointed to the three years military service of the neighboring States as a dire menace surely to materiahze in Switzerland, with its 70 accompaniment of a tremendous national debt, should the Swiss people determine to hold pace in military efficiency with neighboring nations, were the obstacles to an effective preparedness of Switzerland in the nine- ties of the last century. "We do not need any additional preparation," the pacifists of Switzerland cried in those days. Think of the money modern rifles, modern guns, modern fortifi- cations and longer courses of training would cost ! Why should we go to all these expenses when there will never be another European War?" Such was the gospel preached from the Alps to the Rhine, from the Jura Hills to the Tyrolean Mountains; and the Swiss peasants and workingmen lent a more attentive ear to such arguments than to the sound rea- soning of the men who could not yet see the millenium on the threshold of Europe and who urged their people to prepare. Everything savoring of the military insti- tutions became for the time decidedly unpopular. The cry for demobilization was heard everywhere. The Federal legislature was in a quandary, as the referendum was sure to be invoked on any appropriation or military legislation, and its defeat when brought to a popular vote nobody could doubt. Thus by a general disrespect for Preparedness an undermining of discipline was brought about that saddened every true Swiss soldier. Some able officers sought to stem the tide of public opinion that seemed running against them, but with little success. The popular chord was tuned for the time being to "anti-preparedness." A captain of the General staff, Fritz Gertsch, a dashing and intelligent officer, under- took to enlighten the people on the necessity of good 71 discipline for the efficiency of any army. He published a pamphlet entitled : ''Arm or Disarm," which, in logical language said : ''There is only one Swiss soldier, only one Swiss army possible, and that is a soldier whose obedience is unconditional and an army with the strictest discipline always enforced." In pointed words he attacked the newspapers that had incited a disregard of discipline among the soldiers. "The first thing I would do in case of war between the Republic and another nation," he wrote, "would be to confiscate every newspaper, and thereby prevent in- formation of our condition or movements from reaching the enemy." Gertsch's pamphlet was a sensation. Not only those newspapers which felt that "the shoe would fit" them, but nearly all of them took a fling at the fearless captain, and so to heart did he take this criticism that he handed in his resignation. Colonel Ulrich Wille, then chief of cavalry, and a great disciplinarian, had supported Gertsch whole heart- edly, and he too was forced into seclusion. The people had to have their victims. On November 3, 1895, the proposed revision of the military constitution was defeated by a vote of 270,000 to 200,000. But such a setback could not permanently discourage the real leaders of "the people in arms." In a short time a great change of sentiment took place, and Wille and Gertsch "came back." Wille was desig- nated at the time of the 19 14 mobilization, the General of the Swiss Army, and Gertsch is commander of a brigade. 72 The highest rank in the Swiss Army, when on peace footing, is that of colonel. In time of mobilization the Federal Assembly elects a general as the chief of the entire army. But only three Swiss have ever car- ried this honor. They were Henry Dufour in 1857, when Switzerland mobilized against Prussia; Hans Herzog in 1870, at the Franco-Prussian War; and now Ulrich Wille. Within twelve years from the defeat of the proposed revision of the military article a great change in sentiment took place. The certainty was brought home to the Swiss people that only by a strong and efficient army could the independence of the Re- pubHc be maintained. November 5, 1907, was a red letter day for the Alpine citizenry. By an immense majority the article of the constitution was amended as the officers of the army had desired. The American people are not behind the Swiss in the matter of hard, common sense. That American pacifists may for a time mislead a considerable number of their fellow citizens is to be expected, just as the anti-preparedness advocates of 1895 gained a temporary triumph in Switzerland. We in America have one ad- vantage in that we have the example of Switzerland to hold up as refutation of the argument of the pacifists. When I had the privilege of testifying before the Ways and Means Committees of the New York Senate and Assembly in favor of the Welsh-Slater physical in- struction and military training bills, and again when Governor Whitman, May 15th, before signing the bills, conducted a hearing, I repeatedly heard opponents of the measures offer these objections: First — That any formidable preparedness is repug- nant to the ideals of a republic; 1Z Second — Military training is harmful to good citi- zenship ; Third — The greater the preparedness of a nation, the more likely she will be to engage in war. I answered all three objections, as I answer now, in one word: Switzerland. No purer type of Republican ideals, no more fixed and devoted adherence to those ideals, can be found in all the world than in Switzerland. Nor are the demo- cratic principles of the Swiss people the mushroom growth of any sudden revolution; they have upheld and maintained their ideals through six centuries and, far from being repugnant to them, the military establish- ment of the Swiss has been the one means by which those ideals have been able to triumph over and with- stand the assaults of tyrants and oppressors who have sought to crush democracy. Again, the Swiss citizen is the living refutation of the charge that military training hurts good citizenship. There is no exaggeration in the statement that nowhere on earth are the two qualities of a highly efficient sol- dier and public-spirited citizen so united and blended as they are in your Swiss. Trained from youth, it is doubtful if, man for man, he has a peer in any army of Europe. Yet no one, claiming any knowledge of Swiss life and political conditions, fails to agree that the Swiss is a model of good citizenship, and that the civil government of the little republic is on a par with its army in efficiency. It is almost wasting time replying to the argument that adequate preparedness brings the danger of war. But here, once more, the proof of its falsity is furnished by Switzerland. Hemmed in among the four great bel- 74 ligerents— Germany, Austria, France and Italy— offering a convenient path by which either side could move to strike the other, Switzerland is at peace today, her neutrality respected and her territory unviolated, for no other reason than, that within 48 hours after war was declared she had her splendid army of 425,000 mobilized on her four borders, serving notice on all the powers that she would not submit to the fate that sub- sequently overtook Belgium, defenseless Luxembourg and helpless Greece. Switzerland is neutral, not by the orders of the big powers of Europe, but by her own voluntary decision; nor could she today be compelled to become unneutral, as in 1798 when it pleased Napoleon to make her his ally in war. To this policy of neutrality the Alpine republic is going to adhere, but it should not be forgotten that in placing her powerful military forces to guard the bor- ders, the ultimate duty is not merely the protection of her neutrality, but the preservation of her liberty and independence at all hazards and at any cost. Picture, if you can, the perils to which little Switzer- land would have been subjected at the beginning of the world war in 1914, had her policy been dictated by such gentry as those Americans who howl dismally against adequate preparedness in the United States! Would the military necessity that holds treaties to be but ''scraps of paper" have hesitated to invade Switzerland if Swit- zerland had been weak? Belgium bled and is bleeding because she was weak. Our amiable pacifists might well visualize the fate that would have overtaken Switzerland, had either Ger- many or France deemed it safe to attack the other 75 through Swiss territory. The only reason Switzerland has not been trampled iipoii, is that she is able to resist invasion. No other consideration but that of expedi- ency seems to govern the conduct of nations locked in a death struggle. Thorough preparedness in Switzerland has made for peace in Switzerland, demonstrating the absurdity of paci- fists claims that preparedness for war is an invitation to war. Does a quarrelsome man, looking for fight, pick out a heavy weight pugilist to try conclusions with ? The natural laws are as immutable in their application to nations as to individuals. Most nations have shown themselves to be pretty much of the bully type, and the bully preys on the weak and defenseless every time. If tiny Switzerland can ward ofif aggression by mili- tary preparedness, how comparatively simple would it be for great America to do the same! The danger is imminent, for America stands in the way of more than one nation's ambition for power and aggrandizement. The peril impends, and Switzerland proffers the remedy. A system that has worked so well in democratic Swit- zerland, if modified to fit American needs and conditions, cannot fail in the United States. 76 CHAPTER II. Details of the 1907 Military Organization. — Divisions based on languages spoken. — First Line, Landwehr and Landsturm. — Mental and physical tests at the age of nineteen. — Rivalry among Cantons for showing in tests. — Recruiting schools, — Length of service in school and with colors. The thorough and scientific way in which Switzer- land's military authorities set out to build up and equip her army after the people, through the Constitutional amendment of 1907, had given them free rein to put the Republic on a footing of adequate preparedness is at once interesting in its side-lights on the Swiss charac- teristic of doing all things well, and instructive to our own people as they contemplate strengthening the de- fenses of America. Here are some of the salient features of the organi- zation as it exists today: It provides for six divisions of the First Line. The organization of division takes cognizance of the language spoken in the Cantons. The First Division is French speaking, and derives its contingents from the Cantons of Geneve, Valais, and Vaud; the Second Division is French speaking from Neuchatel, Fribourg, and Jura Bernois. The Third, Fourth and Fifth recruit their men from the German speaking Cantons of Bern, Lucerne, Solothurn, Basel, Aargau, St. Gallen, Zurich and Schauffhausen. The Sixth division, with the Italian language as well as the German, embrace men from the Cantons of Ticino, Graubunden, and parts of St. Gallen and Appenzell. As each division contains three brigades, the federation has 1 8 infantry brigades of the First Line. In four of the divisions the third brigade is a mountain brigade of infantry. Each regiment of infantry has attached to it one company with 12 machine guns. The organization provides for: First Line. Infantry: 36 regiments, each regiment containing 3 bat- tahons; a battalion, 25 officers and 881 soldiers. Four companies of 5 officers and 209 soldiers each form a battalion. Artillery: Seventy-two batteries of field artillery as- sembled in 12 regiments. Each battery has 4 or 5 officers, I veterinary, 21 non-commissioned of- ficers, 118 men, 122 horses and 4 pieces. There are six batteries of howitzers for each division. Twelve companies (4 guns each) of foot artillery and 24 batteries of mountain artillery complete the First Line artillery. Cavalry: Eight regiments of 3 squadrons each, forming 4 brigades; also 12 companies of guides, forming 6 groups. Each squadron numbers 4 officers, 17 non-commissioned officers, 107 troopers, 123 sad- dle-horses and 8 draft-horses. Engineers: Twenty-four companies of sappers. Signal corps: Six. Bridge Trains: Six. Telegraph Companies: Six. Medical Corps: Each division: i division hospital, 5 companies sanitary troops, i mountain hospital, 2 sanitary companies. 78 Ammunition Trains : Each division : 2 companies ar- tillery ammunition, i company infantry ammuni- tion, 2 pack trains. Second Line or Landwehr. Infantry: 212 companies of 170 men each assembled in 56 battalions which form 16 regiments, 2 regi- ments to a brigade. Artillery: Forty-three companies and 8 battahons of mountain artillery. Cavalry: Twenty-four squadrons. Third Line or Landsturm. Infantry: Eighty-three battalions. Artillery : Foot and fortification artillery : 39 companies Cavalry: Thirteen companies. The approximate number of men who can be mobil- ized on the firing line is : First Line (men up to their 32nd year) 225,000 Landwehr (men up to their 40th year) 110,000 Landsturm (men up to their 48th year) 80,000 415,000 Besides this number there is a reserve force of 250,000 Landsturm men, 90% of whom are good shots if nothing more. Every male Swiss at his nineteenth year must sub- mit to a mental and physical examination. The mental test includes reading, arithmetic, geography, history and composition. For physical examination he performs various gym- nastic exercises on apparatus. The minimum height is 5 feet, 15^ inches (United States minimum is 5 feet 79 2 inches) ; chest measurement, half of height, but not less than 31 3^ inches. There is a great rivalry" among the Cantons to have the highest percentage in the recruiting examinations, as they are published throughout Switzerland. Some Can- tons compel the youths from 17 to 19 to go to night school for 64 hours during the winter, to prepare for the examination. When accepted, in his 20th year the infantry recruit enters the recruiting school of his territorial division, or if he is to become an artilleryman or cavalryman he joins his respective school, of which there are two for each branch. The length of time devoted to the first year's train- ing of the recruit is as follows, day of entrance and day of discharge included : Days Sanitary troops, supply trains, commissary. . 62 Infantry and Engineers 67 Artillery and garrison troops 'j'j Cavalry 92 At the time the recruit reports for his service he is given a complete equipment and a regulation rifle, all of which he takes home after finishing the course. For yearly inspection and active duty he must turn out with his equipment spick and span. For neglecting any detail at inspection or losing articles he is punished. The recruiting school course is hard work, as each day means eight strenuous hours, with night work such as firing, intrenching and maneuvers, probably twice a week. Completion of the school course promotes the recruit to a full-fledged soldier, assigned to a battalion in his 80 home district which is a unit of the division of which his Canton is a territorial part. As a member of a battaHon, he serves each year thirteen days until he is 28. He belongs to the First Line for 4 years longer, until he is 32, but in those 4 years he is not bound to do any yearly service. From 32 to 40 he belongs to the Second Line, or Landwehr. In this capacity he serves for one week every second year. For 8 years, until he is 48, he serves in the Landsturm, and is called to the colors twice for a period of one week. In addition, every Landwehr and Landsturm soldier presents himself for annual in- spection, at which time he must account for the care of his uniform and arms. Time of instruction for a Swiss infantry private : Days Recruiting School, at his 20th year 67 First Line, up to his 32nd year: 7 repetition courses at 13 days each 91 Landwehr, up to his 40th year : 4 courses of 7 days each 28 Landsturm, up to his 48th year : 2 courses of 7 days each 14 200 The Landsturm has two classes, the armed and un- armed. The armed class is organized into companies, troops and regiments. The unarmed class has special duties in war time. When the youth of 19 passes the mental and physical examination for admission into the service he is given a page in the "Service ledger" of his recruiting district. Each district has a Federal Military Bureau directed by Federal officers. The service ledger contains the 81 pedigree of the man, his rating and mental tests, the branch of arms for which he was selected and the unit to which he belongs. All promotions as well as details of his conduct every time he did service, are entered in the ledger. If he leaves his recruiting district to make his home in another, he is compelled to inform the dis- trict chiefs of the old and new district within three days and give his new address. A duplicate of all this data in the form of a "service book" (Dienstbiichlein) is given to each man. This book is the "report card" of every Swiss citizen. It is kept strictly up-to-date, and is a "passport," for his military life. So there, briefly outlined, is the plan under which the finest military organization in the world works. Every man has his place, every able-bodied Swiss citizen does his part in assuring the safety of his country, and does it gladly and with pride in the doing. Herbert Spencer said "organization is the ability to apply all available knowledge and all available energy at a given time and a given place to the accomplish- ment of a particular object." The Swiss in their military establishment have applied that definition with wonder- ful results. There is no waste, no confusion, no fatal hesitation about doing the right thing in the right way at the right time. Forsooth, there be none accompanying such a task as mobilizing one-tenth of a nation of peace- ful workingmen and agriculturalists into a splendid fighting machine inside of 48 hours. It bears the lesson of value of preparedness and of the proper system upon which to base preparedness. Can America learn that lesson? How could she be so blind as to fail to learn it? 82 -at- J" iim. CHAPTER III. Marksmanship in Switzerland. — Rifle shooting a national sport. — All undergo yearly tests. — Triennial "Schiitzenfeste." — Swiss take first honors in 17 out of 18 international shoots. — Scores of all international shoots. — Camp Perry. — Lesson in thor- oughness for Americans. — Training of officers. — Chance for any citizen to become an officer, — Apportionment of cost between Federal government and Cantons. — Tax of exemp- tion. — Swiss system economical as well as efficient. — Shows what America might accomplish at slight cost. — Public funds^ carefully expended in Switzerland. — Tables of pay in Unite States and Swiss Army. Swiss proficiency in marksmanship, the thorough training Swiss army ofificers receive at a minimum cost of time, and the remarkable economy that characterizes the maintenance of so splendid a military establishment all contain vital lessons that America may well heed as she stands on the threshold, about to enter into an era of preparedness. In order to be a crack marksman be it with the crossbow of Wilhelm Tell or the modern 7 mm. army rifle, the Swiss for six centuries, in early boyhood and until old age, has practiced shooting. Rifle practice is the sport of old and young, even in the smallest village. Every community is compelled by the Federal government to build and maintain a rifle range in the open field. Every Swiss soldier in civil life must belong to a rifle club, under the auspices of which he has to undergo 83 a yearly shooting test, consisting of 6x6, or 36 shots, with a minimum of 75 per cent, hits and 60 per cent, points, for each exercise. Target '*A" has an inner black circle of 16 inches diameter, counting four points, enclosed by a larger circle of 24 inches, counting three points, a third circle of 40 inches, counting two points, and an outer circle of 60 inches, counting one point. Target "B" represents the head and chest of a soldier and is 16 inches high. Hits in the head or neck count two points, in all other parts of the effigy, one point. The distances used for target "B" are 300 meters (333 yards) for position I (kneeling), and II (prone) ; and 200 meters {222 yards) for position III (prone with supported rifle). The following table makes clear the tests each Swiss must undergo yearly: Distance Tcise Meters Yds. Position 1 Parg I 300 333 prone A II 300 333 kneeling A III 200 222 standing A IV 300 333 kneeling B V 300 333 prone B VI 200 222 prone (with sup- ported barrel) B The last day in each year for filing the returns of this annual test is July 15. To insure a good score one can practice on the shooting range whenever he 84 chooses from early spring until such time as he feels himself prepared to take the compulsory test. The Federal government refunds the cost of the ammunition used to all those who pass, and pays to each rifle club two francs (39 cents) for each man coming up to the required mark. Woe to the chap that fails in this rigid test! He is in disgrace among his companions, and in November or December he must again don his uniform, shoulder his rifle, go to the nearest recruiting place, and practice shooting under the eyes of special instructors until he passes the required mark for 36 shots. There are in Switzerland at the present time 4,000 rifle clubs with an aggregate membership of 400,000 men. Two million francs is the cost to the government of the approximate number of shots fired in target practice every year. This persistent rifle practice makes every Swiss sol- dier a crack shot, and is largely responsible for the high efficiency of the army. That proficiency in shooting grows from year to year is evident from the following facts : Federal "Schiitzenfeste" are held every three years, the highest award being the title of **Meisterschiitze," given to those who make seventy-five hits out of one hundred shots within a circle of 20 centimeters (eight inches), in kneeling position, at a distance of 300 meters (330 yards). In 1900, at Lucerne, four ''Meisterschiitzen" were proclaimed. In 1904 at St. Gall, thirteen. In 1907 at Zurich, twenty-seven. In 1910 at Bern, one hundred and twenty-eight. 85 Undoubtedly there are hundreds, if not thousands, of Swiss who could make this mark, but every Swiss has not the money to spend or the time to lose to take part in a Federal Schiitzenfest. The widespread interest in these Schiitzenfeste can be imagined from the fact that at Bern, in 191 o, three hundred gallery stands were in use. At every stand there were from thirty to forty men waiting their turn, some of them for ten or twelve hours. The same year the Rheinische Schiitzenfest took place at Karlsruhe, Germany, for a district five times the size of all Switzer- land, and there only fifty stands were in use, and rarely more than three men at a time waiting for their turn to shoot. , r. » / During the year jgip, there were a total of 44,000,000 shots fired in rifle practice in Switzerland, with its 4,000,000 population. i In Germany (population 67,000,000) thet^e were only 30,000,000 practice shots fired that year, a/d in France (population 40,000,000) but 20,000,000 shots. V i It will be remembered that at the international stioot in Camp Perry, Ohio, September, 191 3, Switzerland's team came out ahead of those of all other competing nations. The official returns were: Switzerland 4^959 France 47^7 United States 4,57^ Sweden 4.577 Peru 3.892 Canada 3,7^0 up to this year Switzerland had carried first honors in seventeen out of eighteen international shoots. Here is Switzerland's Score of the International Shoots : Year Place Points 1897 Lyons 2,310 1898 * Turin 2,310 1899 The Hague 4,528 1900 Paris 4,399 1901 Lucerne 4,567 1902 Rome 4,484 1903 Buenos Ayres 4,59^ 1904 Lyons 4,542 1905 Brussels 4,737 1906 Milan 4,7i6 1907 Zurich 4,848 1908 Vienna 4,617 1909 Hamburg 4,840 1910 The Hague 4,9^8 191 1 Rome 5,014 1912 Biarritz 5,172 1913 Camp Perry, U. S. A. ... 4,959 1914 Vyborg 5,025 Your Swiss citizen proves the adage, "Practice makes perfect." He is the marksman par excellence because it is part of his routine life to make himself proficient in marksmanship. This is but a phase of the general thoroughness of the Swiss military system. * The only time Switzerland was not first (held second rank). 87 Just as the Swiss boy, imbued in his school days with the idea of subjecting himself to disciphne, falls readily when he reaches his-twentieth year into the cus- toms of arrny life; just as the physical training he re- ceived in his youth fits him to bear the vigorous hard- ships of the soldier, so does his regular and continuous target practice make him a dreaded figure when he aims his rifle at his country's foe. In this, as in other particulars, America can well take example from Switzerland. How Swiss boys are trained to be competent marksmen, and the best way of duplicating the plan in America are topics fully treated of in other chapters. But it is fitting here to emphasize the practical results in the Alpine republic, and their significance to us. So much for rifle practice. Now let us turn to the training of the army officers. Any Swiss who has the ambition and possesses the intelligence can become an ofiicer in the army. After completing the course of sixty-seven days in the recruiting school, if his conduct during that time warrants a recommendation from his superiors, he gets a call to attend a school for non- commissioned officers, lasting three weeks, after which he receives the rank of corporal. As such he attends another recruiting school a year later, and the corporal with a good record and the ambition to become an officer enters the school for officers for a period of eighty days. There he is taught all that a second lieutenant and first lieutenant need to qualify for their positions. For prac- tical and training purposes a school for non-commis- sioned officers is connected with the school for officers. After serving eighty days the second lieutenant goes through a -thirteen days' regular first-line course with his battalion, and the following year spends sixty-seven days at the school for recruits as a second lieutenant. Time of instruction to become a second lieutenant of infantry: Days Recruiting school 67 Repetition course with his battalion 13 School for non-commissioned officers 21 Recruiting school as a corporal 67 Repetition course with his battalion 13 School of officers 80 Repetition course with his battalion 13 Recruiting school as a lieutenant 67 341 For four years the second lieutenant must serve thirteen days a year and then may become a first lieu- tenant. To advance to the rank of captain he must take a forty-five days' course in Central School No. i. Officers above the rank of captain devote a consider- able part of their time to special courses in tactics, in- formation, etc. The higher the rank, the greater the amount of duty and preparation. Commanders of divi- sions and army corps commanders are chosen from the professional officers. Switzerland spends on her army eleven francs ($2.20) per capita of the population, and twenty-three francs ($4.50) on public education. The State and municipalities expend for a pupil in the elementary public school 105 francs ($21.00) ; for pupils in secondary schools 160 francs ($32.00). The following table shows how the Swiss earn their living : Of i,ooo Swiss: 418 are occupied in trade and manufacturing, 332 in agriculture, 86 in commerce, 59 in administrative positions, 50 in transportation, 55 in unclassified occupations. 1,000 Those Swiss who are physically unfit to serve in the army must pay an annual tax of exemption. Swiss citi- zens living in other lands are obligated to pay this tax, and, with few exceptions they do so. It amounts to a ground tax of i^ per cent., and a personal property tax of ij4 per thousand. The equipment, other than fire and side-arms — with the exception of underwear, shoes, and stockings — is furnished by the Cantons. The cost of this equipment is from 185 francs ($37) for the infantry to 225 francs ($45) for the cavalry. Half of this expense, however, is borne by the Federal government, and is paid out of the military taxes. The yearly Federal military budget in peace time (1914) is 45,000,000 francs ($9,000,000), out of which is paid the cost of : 1. Half of the equipment to the Cantons. 2. The whole of armament of all military branches. 3. The maintenance of the army in instruction and training courses. 90 4- Fortification of strategically important points. 5. The rents of the military barracks of which the Cantons are owners. The cost of a soldier to Federation and Canton is : Infantry Cavalry Francs Dols. Francs Dols. Equipment 185 37 225 45 Arms no 22 120 24 Total 295 59 345 69 Share of Cantons 95 19 115 23 Share of Federation . . 200 40 230 46 Surely no one will assert that $9,000,000 is an ex- cessive annual budget to maintain a military establish- ment which permits a trained and equipped army of 425,000 to be mobilized and ready for action within two days. There is economy as well as efficiency there; something America might well take note of, for we have displayed neither quality during recent years in the con- duct of our military establishment. The fact that American Congresses have appropri- ated great sums for military and naval purposes without any proportionate return being manifest, has afforded pacifists the chance of appealing on the grounds of economy against preparedness on a large scale. "What!" they exclaim. "Double or treble our mili- tary forces? Look at the immense amount it costs to maintain what little we have!" And at that sort of reasoning canny citizens wag their heads dolefully and see visions of national bank- ruptcy ahead if the preparedness advocates have their way. 91 But Switzerland is not bankrupt, and her 4,000,000 people support a military establishment that can put nearly half a million soldiers into the field. Nor must one imagine for an instant the Swiss would hesitate to voice his complaints if he thought the army was costing too much. He guards his pocket as closely as he does his national rights. Every cent of public money expended in Switzerland is made to count ; that is the secret. Once imbue Ameri- can Congresses with the same attribute of careful and economical management which characterizes Switzer- land's public servants, let them proceed in that spirit to carry out the Swiss system here, and the cost of main- taining the greatest defense force on earth will be no burden at all upon our 100,000,000 inhabitants. Pay in the Swiss Army per day : Active Service Francs Dols. General 50 10 Head of the General Staff 40 8 Army Corps Commander 35 7 Division Commander ... 30 6 Colonel 20 4 Lieutenant-Colonel 15 3 Major 12 2.40 Captain 10 2 First Lieutenant 8 1.60 Lieutenant 7 1.40 Sergeant 2 0.40 Corporal 1.50 0.30 Private 0.80 0.16 92 Training Service Francs Dols. 17 340 17 340 17 340 17 340 17 340 13 2.60 II 2.20 9 1.80 7 1.40 6 1.20 2 0.40 1.50 0.30 0.80 0.16 The pay in the United States Army is as follows : Lieutenant-General $ii,ooo a year Major-General 8,000 Brigadier-General 6,000 Colonel 4,000 Lieutenant-Colonel 3j500 Major ■ 3,000 Captain 2,400 First-Lieutenant 2,000 Second-Lieutenant 1,700 Sergeant 360 Corporal 252 Private 180 From Colonel down the payment is increased every five years. In the U. S. Navy the pay is: Admiral $13,500 a year Rear- Admiral 8,000 Captain 4,000 Commanders 3,5oo Lieutenant-Commanders . . 3,000 Lieutenants . . - 2,400 Ensigns 1,700 Midshipmen 600 93 CHAPTER IV. Swiss mobilization system reorganized four months before out- break of European War. — Details of the regulations. — Suc- cess of first try-out August i, 1914. — Comments of United States military attaches on ground. — "Thorough, earnest and businesslike." — American patriotism and American sloth. — Colonel Sanger's observations. — We must apply our patriot- ism practically, as does the Swiss, or all heroic sacrifices will be in vain. Whether by accident or because rumors of impending war had reached the ears of the Swiss diplomats, Swit- zerland reorganized her mobilization system on April, 1914, four months before the outbreak of the great world struggle. For the seven preceding years sections of the 1907 amendments to the military article of the Constitution had governed mobilization of the army. Experience, however, had made a manifest number of possible improvements in the method of marshalling the army, and these were inaugurated in the decree of April I, 1914. Who knows what tribulations this foresight saved the Swiss? For the day that German troops assailed Bel- gium and invaded Luxembourg, the four frontiers of Switzerland were walled off by gleaming bayonets in the capable hands of 425,000 trained fighting men. The mobilization regulations of April, 1914, put on a war footing all units, detachments and staffs; and, I. Provide for the transport of all members of the army to their points of mobilization. 94 2. Govern the procedure of military boards convened to place a valuation on horses seized for cavalry uses. 3. Instruct commandants concerning mobilization points. 4. Direct the Cantonal military department as to their handling of the mobilization. The duties of the "Platz Kommandant" or comman- dant at place of mobilization are: a. Physical examination of all troops. b. Sanitary examination of all locations wherein troops have to be housed. c. Regulations concerning the number of horses and all kinds of vehicles to be rented. d. Supervising the departure of ready troops from places of mobilization and their transport by railroads. In June, 191 4, the new mobilization plans were brought to the notice of every Swiss. Mobihzation posters giving all necessary information were pasted on public bulletin boards in cafes, railroad stations and other places, so that when the real call for the colors was issued August i, 1914, the town crier and the church bells transmitted to every Swiss the electrifying com- mands : "Mobihzation !" and, "To the Frontier !" Immediately the Landsturm joined the customs guards on the border, sentries and outposts seemed to spring up from the ground at every bridge and public building. On the first day after the call every soldier went to his reporting place. The members of infantry battalions assembled for the physical examination and received 95 their full field quota of ammunition in their designated center, wherefrom they proceded by railroad to one of the eight main mobilization places. Here they joined the other two battalions of their regiment, obtained their battalion property, such as baggage wagons, rolling kitchens, ammunition wagons, blankets, additional in- trenching tools, etc. Artillery and cavalrymen went directly to report in one- of the main mobilization places, where their bat- teries and belongings were stationed, and staffs had pre- pared all the detail as to the outfitting of the units. When the troops were assembled and equipped in their places of mobilization, the movement of concen- tration began. All the forces in arms either by railroad or by marches started toward the threatened border, where they entered their organization. Every Swiss soldier keeps at his home his complete military equipment and this, of course, aids a speedy mobilization. Here are some observations of American officers. Major Edzvard P. Lazvton, U. S. military attache in Switzerland at the outbreak of the war, August 1914, says: ''Of course, the mobilization of the Swiss Army was the matter of chief interest for me as well as for the attaches of the other countries represented at Bern. Unfortunately for us, apparently one of the first acts of the Swiss General Staff was to issue orders to taboo and exclude foreign military attaches from all observa- tion of the details of mobilization, and not one of us was allowed anywhere near the frontiers. We could see nothing more than the marching of the troops through the streets and on the roads. The ordinary 96 civilian could get nearer the frontier then we could. This is simply one feature of the thoroughness of their system and in which they out-German the Germans, their military models. The Swiss have little sentiment, lack courtesy, and everything is strictly a matter of busi- ness with them. They are self-opinionated and Spartan- like, take life very seriously and have no sympathy for the frivolous (?) foreigners making a playground of a country, the people of which have ideals so opposite from theirs. These characteristics, which render them far from popular, especially with the Anglo-Saxon ele- ment, are sure to make them formidable in war. Every man is a soldier if physically able to be one. Every Swiss takes a deep interest in the army and appears to be imbued with the highest form of patriotism. Their military work in peace time or in war time is the same thorough, plodding, earnest, work which makes for effi- ciency. Their military seems to take no rest, as though the country were always in imminent danger. This has been going on steadily since the reorganization of the army on modern lines in 1907, and has produced a wonderfully efficient military system perfectly suited to the country." Captain Charles W. Exton, United States Army at- tache in Switzerland, contributes some observations of the 1914 mobilization. He says : "Equipment: The equipment of all arms, and in- cluding special troops, was complete in every detail and in excellent conditions. Whenever troops are demobil- ized in Switzerland the equipment is thoroughly reno- vated and repaired before putting in the storehouse. "The rolling kitchen, so common in Europe, was used by all troops except the mountain troops. The mountain 97 troops used camp kettles and a small combination stove and fireless cooker, four to each company. All equip- ment of the mountain troops was of such size and shape as to be easily packed on a pack-saddle. ''The transportation pertaining to a company of in- fantry and troops of cavalry consisted of one ammuni- tion caisson, one baggage wagon, one rolling kitchen, and one farm wagon (requisitioned). ''Uniform: The Swiss troops are just now making the change from the old blue to the new gray green; so part were wearing the old and part the new uniform. "The troops have but the one uniform for field and garrison. The gray green is a most excellent color for this country, as it blends so well with the green of the valleys and with the rocks and snows of the mountains. The material is excellent and is made in Switzerland. ''Horses: The horse in Switzerland is a valuable animal. Those horses regularly belonging to the mili- tary department have been purchased with great care, principally in England, Austria and Germany. "Since the war began, however, some have been pur- chased in the United States. All new horses are sent to remount depots where they are carefully trained by experienced horsemen. The general appearance of all horses is excellent. The horses requisitioned for service at mobilization, as well as those in the hands of the in- dividual cavalryman, have also been selected with care and were all in excellent condition when reported for service. "The Soldier: The appearance and work of the sol- dier during the few days of mobilization showed him to have so benefited by his previous training in service 98 w 'T as to make the Swiss Army probably the best-trained army, for its size, in the world today. ''Every man seemed thoroughly familiar with his duty, which he performed more or less as a matter of business. "The discipline appeared excellent and of the charac- ter that is cheerfully accepted rather than maintained by force. The relation between officers and men was quite intimate at times, yet there was at the same time such an observance of details as might be found only in the German army. As a matter of fact everything about the Swiss Army, especially their thoroughness as to details, seems modelled after the German Army. ''The Officers: An officer of the line should never be judged except after some considerable service either in campaign or at maneuvers ; yet, from the work observed during mobilization and from conversations with the Swiss officers during the past three months, it is believed that the Swiss officers will, especially since their service during the past year, compare favorably with the officers of any army in the world. "It must be remembered that the Swiss officers are selected from educated men of Switzerland, and among them are found the leading men of every profession and business, and when one considers that in order to have reached the grade of second lieutenant he must have spent at least 336 days of intensive military train- ning, — 144 days of which is principally school work,^ — one realizes the seriousness with which the service is accepted and the standard of thoroughness which may be attained in such a militia system." It should not escape note that Major Laivton and Captain Ext on, as indeed most others who have coni- 99 mented on the Swiss military establishment, make re- peated use of the adjective ''thorough," ''earnest," "busi- ness-like," "patriotic," in describing the attitude of the officials and the citizen-soldiers toward the army. It is likewise well to observe that all agree the Swiss are just as thorough in the matter in times of peace as they are when war exists or is threatened. We Americans are endowed with as high a degree of patriotism as are the Swiss, but we sadly lack the Swiss thoroughness in putting our lofty sentiments to practical account. We are too prone to talk about the sacrifices we would make for our country in time of need, and not enough inclined to equip ourselves so that such sacrifices, when the need does arise, shall not have been in vain. To quote again from the words of an American army officer, we find that very thought occurred to Colonel William Gary Sanger hack in 1900. In a report he made in that year he wrote : "If proof were needed that a land can train all its citizens for the efficient and intelligent performance of that work which must be done when war comes, and at the same time escape the evils of what is today called militarism, that proof can be found in the Republic of Switzerland. "A Republic with the strongest democratic tenden- cies, with a constitution not unlike our own, with intense local pride and cherished local traditions, with an inbred conviction that the central authority must not unduly encroach upon the rights of the Cantons, with a worthy love of peace and its blessings, without the slighest thought of adding a foot to their territory, but with an intense love of country and a cheerful willingness to 100 perform every service which their citizenship entails, they have evolved and developed a military system which has given them the best in the world. It is of the great- est interest to us that in organizing this splendid body of citizen-soldiers they have worked along the lines laid down by the men who formed the Constitution of the United States. "The right of the Cantons to name the officers who are to be commissioned, a right which was reserved to the States by our Constitution, exists today in Switzer- land, subject to the limitations of proved efficiency and fitness. "The organization and discipline of the Swiss militia is under Federal control in Switzerland, just as is pre- scribed by our Constitution ; the universal military ser- vice still remains a theory with us, but in Switzerland it is real and actual. "But one striking difference separates their methods from ours ; for over a hundred years we have failed to pass any laws or take any action in Congress for im- proving and developing our citizen-soldiers ; Switzerland, on the contrary, has profited by experience, and has made its mistakes or shortcomings the stepping-stone to better conditions ; it has carefully and conservatively changed for the better by repeated legislative enactments the organization, the equipment, and training of the militia until today the most competent officers from all over the world pay cheerful tribute to its high ex- cellence." Yet why should it be so? The average American in his private business affairs has no equal in thoroughness, earnest attention to detail and business-like methods. And who dare say the average American's love of coun- lOI try is a less compelling motive than his desire to make money for himself? God forbid it should be so! For if the mercenary, the material, the crass, should ever crowd from American hearts the spirit of self-sacrifice that moved the men of 1776 and those of 1861, then all the preparedness, all the guns, all the battle-fleets our billions of wealth can buy and build, will not avail against a foe whose hearts are staunch and throb with holy devotion for the banner under which they fight. But no; it is not that. Today, tomorrow, just as yesterday, American fathers and mothers will, if the need be, cheerfully surrender their fortunes, their homes, their loved ones; offer their all on the altar of their country. And that is the reason high Heaven cries out against the sloth, the carelessness, the criminal negligence that has failed to prepare against the time of need. Upon the heads of those who have been so blind they would not see must be the blood of our sons who will have laid down their lives in vain if America does not start now earnestly and thoroughly to apply her patriotism. 102 CHAPTER V. Lessons of the mobilization of the National Guard for duty on the Mexican border in the Spring of 1916.— What would have happened, had a first-class power, instead of Villa or Carranza threatened?— Contrast to mobilization of Swiss citizen-soldiers m 1914.— Indifference of American people to blame for maction on part of their officials. What if it had been a first-class power landing a great army of invasion on our shore, instead of Villa leading a troop of half-starved bandits into Columbus? What would we have done about it? What could we have done? Can fearful imagination vision what would have happened during the frenzied days our War Department was endeavoring to mobilize the National Guard? Is it a pleasant picture of what might have been ? Is it an argument for pacificism? How many warnings will it require till the American people awaken and prepare to defend their homes in that day when they shall be imperilled? Contrast the mobilization of the American National Guard in 1916 with the mobilization of Switzerland's citizen-army in August, 1914! Though not directly threatened, the Alpine republic realized the grave danger it faced when war was declared among the great powers, the little nation forming a most convenient pathway to France or to Germany, and no time was lost in prepar- ing for eventualities. Within 48 hours after the order of mobilization, the Swiss army of 425,060 was drawn 103 up to a man, along the German, French, Austrian and ItaHan frontiers. The fact that no need arose to repel attempted vio- lation of Swiss neutrality merely proves the efficacy of Swiss preparedness, for no reasonable human being familiar with the situation can doubt the certainty that one or another of the belligerents would have made use of Swiss territory, as that of Belgium, Luxembourg and Greece were utilized, were it not for one paramount, preventive factor. That preventive factor was the sure knowledge in the mind of every strategist of the Teutonic or Allied forces that the trained-to-the-minute, fully-equipped Swiss army stood ready to contest every inch of the ground of its native land with whatever foe dared to invade, and that the cost of violating Switzerland's neu- trality would be far in excess of anything gained by such a course, even assuming that the Swiss would final- ly have to submit to overwhelming numbers. Therefore (to draw the obvious moral) the lighten- ing bolt of war, flashing all about her, did not strike Switzerland because Switzerland was able to mobilize an excellent army numbering more than one-tenth of her total population. Had Switzerland not been prepared she would have unquestionably been drawn, an innocent and unwilling victim, into the maelstrom, and ruthlessly trampled upon. To go back to where we started, what position for defense would the United States have been in had a first-rate power, such as Japan, instead of some Mexican bandits, menaced her peace and honor in the Spring of 1916? It was pointed out in the preface to this work that 104 the minute the merchant submarine **Deutschland" poked her periscope above the surface of Baltimore Bay, after a voyage from Germany, the theory that the Atlantic and Pacific oceans form an impenetrable defense to America from invasion, vanished into thin air. Even though our navy be built up to the high state of effi- ciency and strength it should attain, there will always hereafter be the lurking fear that the battle-fleet on either coast may be destroyed by enemy submarines and the landing of hostile troops rendered an easy under- taking, providing there be not drawn up to repel in- vasion an army of trained men greater in number than any possible attacking force could ever be. The thing is not to look for trouble, but to be eter- nally ready for trouble and, in that way, do the utmost to avert it. Nations are bullies. They think twice be- fore they attack the strong, and only the most urgent self-necessity will induce any of them to undertake com- bat with a power equal in strength. But the weak are despised. No scruple halts the armed hand of the bully nation from striking a defense- less people when it is to her interests to do so. The spirit is here among our youth. The sponta- neity and enthusiasm with which they answered the President's call to mobihze for the Mexican border was all that could have been hoped for. They were ready to go, anxious to start at once. But they couldn't start at once, nor for days, because they had no equipment, because no logical scheme of transporting them to the scene of mobilization had been laid out, and because of other conditions that cried out to high Heaven of the utter, shameful and wicked non-preparedness of a great and rich nation. 105 i Had only the splendid haste with which America's young men rushed to bring the National Guard regi- ments up to zvar strength been in some small measure duplicated by those who had had eighteen years, since the painful experience of mobilization in 1898, to learn the lesson! Would to God America had prepared to defend herself with half the zeal her youth displayed in offering their services and their lives to defend America! The fiasco of mobilization is but one phase of the indictment against non-preparedness. Once mobiHzed, what are untrained, unhardened men to be expected to accomphsh? Major-General Leonard Wood, U. S. A., at the time of the Mexican affair expressed strong criti- cism of the system which made it necessary, as a rule, to double the strength of National Guard regiments by the introduction of raw material, mostly uninstructed, and requiring a detailed physical examination. The observations of Captain T. B. Mott, U. S. A., reproduced in length in another chapter, emphasize the striking contrast between our militia training system and that in vogue in Switzerland. Says Captain Mott : *'The process of training of the Swiss Militia is exactly the reverse in theory and fact of that in operation with our militia. Good performance in the field being the whole end and object of military instruction and the time being short, the Swiss begin, and we may say end, their teaching in the open country." Even those members of our National Guard who have been long in the militia are unfit, for the most part, to undergo the rigors of the soldiers' life. Their drill is in armories, except for such work in the open as they get during occasional encampments. They are never put through long marches, and the high 106 percentage of the men dropping exhausted by the way, when comparatively short marches were attempted, amply tells the tale. If the Swiss citizen-soldier were not hardened in body so that he can bear up under the manifold hard- ships actual service on the field entails, all the tactics and marksmanship he learns would be of little use to him, and he would be of less use to his country. When the various National Guard units left for their mobilization points, one-third of them, to estimate con- servatively, were raw recruits who had never handled a rifle, knew nothing of even the elementary drill regu- lations and had not the slightest idea of the rigorous service that awaited them in their destined capacity of mere border policing force. Suppose it had been necessary to hurl those brave boys into active service on the field of battle against the army of some first-rate power invading our shores ! Would not the supine spirit of the American people who have tolerated the long and shameful neglect of common measures of safety have been chargeable with their murder? For while, in a republic such as ours, we may fre- quently obtain from our chosen lawmakers less than we demand, it requires no logician to demonstrate that we never will get more than we demand. Because there has been, until very recently, only a faint showing of popular opinion in favor of preparedness, Congresses have provided little in that direction. Had we made it plain that we wanted much, no doubt we would have been at least the beneficiaries of a compromise that granted us a fair share. 107 No one seems adequately to have done all he should have done. No plan of mobilization had been outlined in advance or, if it had, it was not a workable plan. Officials had been asleep, yes ; but where was the alarm- clock of public conscience and popular demand that should have aroused them in time? Soldiers ordered to march, and no shoes fit to put on their feet! Young men taken from city apartment houses and sent to mobilization camps, where they had to sleep for nights in the open field because there were no tents! Mounts for cavalry and artillery provided only just before orders for entrainment to the border came ! Office clerks set to drive balky mules ! Such things could hardly happen in the ragged army of a San Domingan revolutionist. Surely, there was little enough to boast of in the mobilization for the Mexican border. But if a more shameful spectacle than that of the Congress of the wealthiest nation in the world refusing to aid the de- pendants of National Guardsmen, taken suddenly from their employment in civil life and impressed into military service, while society women gave pink teas to provide the bitter bread of charity for their wives and children, it is not chronicled in civilization's annals. How different the provisions for aid to the dependents of the Swiss, if he has to absent himself for duty ! The Military Constitution says in ''Article 2,2. ''Adequate provision shall be made for the support of families which may come to need in consequence of members of families doing service. "Such aid shall never be treated as charity. 108 "Article 23. "It shall come from the municipality in which the members of the soldier reside. If they live in a foreign country, from their native municipahty. "The municipality shall fix the amount of aid and take all other measures which are necessary under the conditions. "It shall report to the Cantonal authority which in turn shall forward the report to the Federal Military Department. "Article 24. "Three-fourths of such municipal expenses are de- frayed by the Federation, one-fourth by the respective Canton." Every criticism of our existing, futile system must in the end resolve itself into the argument for compulso- ry military training of all our able-bodied male citizens. National Guard regiments recruited to war strength by the enlistment of men who had undergone a short period of compulsory military training would help to make up an army worthy of America, and fully able to uphold the honor of the flag under which it marched. Give us such an army, capable of being mobilized in the briefest space of time, and you will find no Carranza despoiling our countrymen, no Villa burning our towns, and no first-class power, whether in the regions of the rising nor setting sun, counting on the day when she may hurl her armies against our rich shores. 109 CHAPTER VI. Military training taken as matter of course by Swiss. — Realize it upbuilds their bodies as well as fits them to defend Fatherland. — Is the sturdy, moral stamina of our forefathers disappearing?— Preparedness must keep pace with growth of material wealth if we are not to be despoiled. — Swiss military system fosters democracy, not militarism. — Captain Mott's ob- servations. — Territorial assignment of Swiss troops aid to speedy and effective mobilization. — Maneuvers in Switzerland train officers to handle large bodies of troops. — Lack of opportunities for American generals to maneuver armies. — Experience of General McDowell. The Swiss does not think of his military training as something separate from his ordinary walk of life; for him it is a matter of course that he should train for the defense of his home, and devote some of his time to his country. Not the least reason for the popularity of the military system, is the knowledge that military training is a great builder of his physique — a sound body in which a sound mind can best be cultivated. The ten weeks of the first year, and two weeks in each of the next eight years seems not at all too great a time for the Swiss to devote to his fatherland. In their pursuit of material wealth and comfort, a rapidly growing number of Americans seem to have no time to harden their bodies, to practice self-denial, to render themselves fit to bear the burdens of a soldier's life should their country need them. We forget that we owe the State which guarantees us life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, protection with our bodies, if need be. Only a citizenry of which every individual is trying to contribute to the health, vigor and tenacity of the whole is fit to successfully defend and regenerate a na- tion. The vigor and vitality of our nation depends not on a few outdoor sports or athletics, but on a uniform, thorough and efficient physical training, which implants discipHne, the highest attribute, not only of a soldier, but of manhood. What has become of the sturdy pioneer who carved and hewed and built with his own strong hands the temple of America's greatness as a nation, following the successful struggle for independence? The men whom history links with the liberation and growth in power of the United States were strong in body and mind. Where are their counterparts today? Their youth and later life were marked by constant struggle to obtain a livelihood and to achieve their ideals of liber- ty. Not only those men who tower conspicuously in our history, but the whole nation, derived its health, its vigor, its tenacity from the rugged life of its plain citizens. Danger lurked at every turn, danger was met always by a courageous heart, a clear mind and a hard- ened, trained body. What is the picture today? Goldsmith told the sorry fate awaiting that nation "where wealth accumulates and men decay." Men accumulating wealth, need not decay, but they are most likely to do so, unless they set about the task of preparing themselves to defend that wealth. It is an outstanding truth that the faster a nation's resources develop, the more she piles up riches, the wider her lines of commerce are flung, the greater grows her need for defense against the encroachments of jealous rivals. If a nation's preparation for military defenses does not keep pace with her commercial and III industrial expansion, she seals the doom of that very prosperity which dominates her existence. This is looking at the question purely from a practi- cal standpoint. Perhaps it explains the zeal with which our great business interests have advocated prepared- ness. It should appeal even to those Americans who no longer have ideals and whose souls are twisted into the shape of the dollar sign. But let him look upon it as he will, with eyes that see only the necessity of protecting our material wealth or with the eyes of the patriot, a lover of his country, every American must sooner or later either take the precaution an adequate preparedness will afford him, or take the bitter consequences of slothful folly. The Swiss is a patriot ; also he is a hard-headed citizen who knows his field or his factory would not be his very long if he were not able to defend it. That is his state of mind when, at twenty years of age, he presents himself as a recruit. His body is developed and hardened. And he is a marksman. Thus equipped it is small wonder a few weeks training turn him into a good soldier. There is no such thing as a military aristocracy in Switzerland. Indeed, the Swiss military system is, in itself, one of the most potent democratising forces in the republic. The Swiss sees the result of militarism on the civil life of the nations around them, and they want none of it. They want no cast, no strutting, petty tyrants in gold lace to oppress them. In all Switzerland there are only 189 professional army officers and all of them earn their salaries in time of peace as instructors in the various military schools. The salaries vary from 3,700 francs ($740) for a cap- 112 tain to 7,300 francs ($1,460) for a colonel. There being no standing army, there is of course no need for more professional officers than those required to fill instructors' positions. The other army officers, pursuing the ordinary walks of civilian life, present a splendid illustration of the real democracy of the Swiss military system. A colonel and a corporal might work side by side in some business house, or a private soldier might be the employer of his commander. Not the least features of Swiss military training strengthening the foundations of democracy, is the disci- pline to which every Szviss is travned from youth to subject himself. Discipline is more needed among a free people than among those ruled by an autocrat. Slaves can be made to obey force. Freemen must have schooled themselves to respond to discipline if they would be for- midable as soldiers. The Swiss poet, Felix Moeschlin, at present a private in the border guard, extols the spirit of discipline as exemplified among the Swiss troops. *Tn a democracy more than in another nation disci- pline is indispensable," he says, "discipline conserves strength, insures action instead of talk, lightens labor and reduces friction discipline is beauty he who can obey himself, his own sublime will, will cheer- fully obey someone else because he knows he can ac- complish nothing without forbearance and obedience." The secret of the popularity of the Swiss system lies in the fact that it is not the work of one class or of one political party, but the product of gradual develop- ment by consent of the whole people, during sixty-seven years of experiment. 113 It is regrettable that at this moment the issue of America's preparedness, an issue that should be like a rehgious conviction in the heart of every American, is being made the point of difference between two schools of politicians. Both of the large political parties have a number of men who are for this degree or that degree of preparedness, or who are against any preparedness, according to the vote-getting properties they believe their particular expressions of belief will exercise in their respective districts. Under her system it costs Switzerland, as has been shown in a previous chapter, only $9,000,000 a year to have a trained force of nearly 500,000 men available for instant call to duty at any time. Had we a system similar to that, our yearly Army budget would hardly exceed the one of 19 16. As far back as 1905 Captain T. B. Mott of the U. S. Army made some cogent observations on this sub- ject. Portions of his report, dealing with the cost of maintaining the Swiss military establishment, the thor- ough manner in which Swiss troops are trained and the wonderful spirit he found among them follows : **The annual appropriations for our Army show that each regular American soldier costs 28 times as much as his Swiss comrade. "To compare the availability of the two forces for war is not so easy as to compare the cost, though our force of Regulars and Organized Militia taken together has about the strength of the Swiss active or elite army. "Switzerland can mobilize an army in three days, ready in every particular of organization, equipment, munition, and transport, to march against the enemy; they can mobilize four such corps at one and the same 114 time. Just how many days it would require to concen- trate in one place 30,000 of our Regulars with all their baggage and transport, or how long to assemble four such commands of Regulars and militia, it is difficult to say, but probably it would be nearer three weeks than three days. "Comparisons may be odious, but when to maintain 1,000 men costs 28 times as much in one country as in another the relative readiness for war of the two forces is worth examining. *'It is impossible to spend several weeks, as I have done, in daily contact with detachments of the Swiss Army engaged in their ordinary daily routine without receiving a lasting impression of the willingness and devotion of the men and zeal and capacity of the officers. The term 'militia army' has given the world a mistaken idea of the effectiveness and readiness of this force, which I think cannot be judged by the militia standards of either America or England. 'Semipermanent army' would be a more correct term in view of the severe exactions of service, the length of time devoted to field training, and the military education of the officers. "The progress of training of the Swiss Militia is exactly the reverse in theory and fact of that in opera- tion with our militia. Good performance in the field being the whole end and object of military instruction and the time being short, the Swiss begin, and we may say end, their teachings in the open country. "After a thorough course in the school of the soldier and squad, work out in the open fields is begun and the recruit comes face to face with the primitive prob- lems of a campaign and learns at the very start 'what he is here for.' He is taught to march correctly in IIS column, form line and march in line, but these exercises are made an incident of going to and coming from 'work.' The real business of his life, he learns, is to march steadily under a heavy pack, shoot straight, take cover, and obey his squad leader. The candidate-officers' and junior-officers' chief thought is to do outpost and patrol duty effectively, to read the map correctly, to post their men advantageously, and to solve on the ground minor tactical problems. They are questioned and noted on these points and they realize that their advancement depends upon the intelligence they show in the presence of actual though elementary mihtary facts. ''After three weeks thus spent the recruit puts in a week at battalion exercises with longer marches and two nights in bivouac with outpost duty at night, fol- lowed by exercises all the forenoon and a march home in the evening. The fifth and sixth weeks entire are spent on a long march in rough country, where the bat- talion acts for the most part as if in the presence of an enemy, maneuvering by day, establishing outposts at night; and conducting combat exercises with ball car- tridges (90 per man). The contrast between this sort of militia training and that seen in America or England is most marked. The physiological effect on the men is certainly important. The first conceptions of the real business of a soldier, his whole reason for existence, are apt to produce a lasting impresson on a young man. In our service the recruit's first enthusiasms are con- centrated (and dissipated) in the grind of barrackyard drill, where no man need or is expected to use his head. As these same recruits, whether fourth-class cadets or regular enlisted men, grow old in the service and in 116 turn have to instruct others, the ideas crystallized in them during their first training prevail, and instinctively they give importance to the things which have been most deeply impressed upon them — judge of regiments by close-order performances and seek to have their ov^n excel in a similar way, while work in the open, amongst farmhouses, villages, fields and woods, seems a thing quite apart, and occasional occurrence in no way inti- mately bound up in a soldier's routine existence. "In Switzerland there are no parades or reviews or drills beyond the company or battalion. These things would doubtless be done in some measure if there existed a permanent army, but they zvould ahuays come last and he least thought of, because through the push of stern necessity the Szviss has sifted out the absolute essentials to fitness for war, and these essentials, field exercises and good shooting^ he zvorks at to the exclusion of every- thing else. "A man cannot be taught billiards on a dining-table, nor football in a gymnasium, nor hunting in a riding hall. He also cannot be taught minor tactics on a mili- tary reservation, however large, and the Swiss do not attempt such impossible feats. ''The Swiss farmer is the most independent and jealous person on the globe, but he has voluntarily yielded to supreme military necessity and voted to let troops maneuver over his fields: and he greatly enjoys getting a few francs for a little damage done to his fence or pasture." One great advantage in the organization of Switzer- land's army is its territorial assignment and distribution. The first and second divisions are recruited from dis- tricts along or near the French border, the third and "7 fourth from along the German border, the fifth on the Austrian, and the sixth on the Italian frontier. That not only allows a very quick mobilization at any danger point, but in peace time, by combined maneuvers, a prob- lematical invasion can be carefully conducted and provi- sion for repelling a real invasion considered from all angles. Annual maneuvers with large bodies of troops are responsible for much of the efficiency and mobility of the Swiss Army. Back in 1852 the first camp of 30,000 troops took place in Thun. For the last twenty years the fall ma- neuvers of parts of the Swiss army assemble annually some 60,000 men of all branches. That gives the Army Corps, Division, Brigade, Regi- ment and Battalion Commanders an opportunity to gain experience in the handling of large bodies of troops, it promotes the spirit of cooperation among officers and men and determines whether they are capable to hold their positions. The wide distribution of the sections of our Regular Army and the upkeep of ancient military posts which have had no strategical value since Indian warfare days are obstacles to the assembling and maneuvering of even a small force. We are today confronted with exactly the same conditions as prevailed at the beginning of the Civil War. Our higher officers are unable to bring to- gether for maneuvers anything like the number of troops which, in war time, they would have to direct from the outset. What General McDowell said in his testimony be- fore the Committee on the conduct of the Civil War could as well have been spoken in 1916 before the Mili- tary Afl^airs Committee of the United States' Senate : 118 " 'I had no opportunity to test my machinery, to move it around and see whether it would work smoothly or not/ General McDowell stated. 'In fact, such was the feeling, that when I had one body of eight regiments of troops reviewed together, the general censured me for it, as if I was trying to make a show. I did not think so. There was not a man there who had ever maneuvered troops in large bodies. There was not one in the Army. I did not believe there was one in the whole country. At least I knew there was no one there who had ever handled 30,000 troops. I had seen them handled abroad in reviews and marches, but I had never handled that number, and no one here had. I wanted very much a little time, all of us wanted it. We did not have a bit of it.' " 119 CHAPTER VII. Physical training of Swiss boy is the foundation of Switzerland's preparedness. — Public schools equipped for gymnastics system uniform throughout country. — Military training without arms. — Male public-school teachers are the instructors. — All under Federal supervision. — Physical training the national sport. — "Turnfeste" universally participated in. — Aim is to train classes. — Our athletics stimulate individual rivalry. — Statistics prove value of training. — Swiss boy learns to obey orders in physical training classes,, hence develops into the best disciplined of all soldiers. Character building, as well as body building, is a prime object of physical training as taught in the Swiss public schools; and mental development depends largely on physical development, and keeps pace with it. The Swiss, in laying the only adequate foundation for the system of national defense that is the marvel of the world, have created a race of men, strong, virile, dexterous and well-formed in body, mind and character. A uniform system must be at the root of successful physical training, just as physical training must be uni- form throughout a nation if, thereby, that nation's youths are to be fitted, when they reach maturity, to be- come with only a few weeks compulsory military train- ing, well equipped defenders of their country. That a Swiss soldier, in spite of his short service, is as worthy a fighting unit as any of those of the great military powers, can be attributed to the systematic physical training he received as a boy in the public school, that and nothing else. At the age of eight every Swiss schoolboy begins his 120 program of physical training. The course consists of the practice of exercises, selected after long experience, and applied in keeping with their value as regards a systematic, harmonious training of the body and develop- ment of its organs. It progresses from easy performances for the boy of eight to difficult problems for the boy of fifteen in setting up exercises, calisthenics, marching and running, work on horizontal bars, parallel bars, climbing poles and horses, jumping, vaulting, and all other applied gym- nastics. This work gradually takes up more and more of the boy's time. The boy of eight begins with two hours a week, while he of fifteen devotes one hour every day to such practice. The exercises and drills are conducted out of doors whenever possible. Every school yai'd has stationary horizontal bars, parallel bars, climbing apparatus, and side horses. The execution of exercises by classes or teams, so that the work is performed simultaneously, with snap and vigor, is considered a great factor in discipline and is, therefore, extensively practiced. Physical training is the only subject in Swiss schools under the supervision of the Federal government. The whole system is uniform and there is only one primer for all the instruction. The most important factor in every lesson of physical training is the military training without arms in absolute accordance with the army regulations. About one fourth of every period of instruction is taken up by exercises like: Position of attention, the rests, facing, steps and marchings, school of squads, alignments, taking distance and intervals, oblique march, turning on moving and fixed pivots, open and closed formation in squads, platoons and companies. All this Federal physical instruction is given by male teachers of the Swiss public schools. The school-teacher is the primary military instructor of every Swiss boy, and to make him proficient to teach in this subject he takes, while at the teachers' college, a rigid four years' course in physical training along with other lines of study. The examination as to his fitness to instruct, after completing his course, is held by government inspect- ors. Every year an inspection and examination of all boys* classes and grades is undertaken by the Federal examiners. Systematic physical training is the national sport in Switzerland, and the boys and young men of the Alpine republic band together in athletic clubs which encourage rivalry among the teams in performing exercises requir- ing exactness, gracefulness, strength and will-power. *'Turnfeste" or meets of physical training clubs are held for districts of Counties, Cantons (States) and the Federation, and on such occasions one who sees can realize the wonderful achievements of the Sv/iss system of school training. In 1910, at Basel, 15,000 young Swiss in their athletic uniforms simultaneously executed gymnastics exercises. The promptness and the snap with which the movements were gone through was a most inspiring sight. Physical and military training have the effect of in- culcating democracy and at the same time teach the bene- fit of system, organisation and a definite purpose in the nation's defense to the social, political and business units of our citizenship. 122 '%2 'Ikml We can hardly train the minds of men to work al- ways for one aim or in complete unity, but we can easily train the bodies to work in unison, and with precision. By doing so we will show the results from disciplined, cooperative work of men's bodies, the health of which is an unqualified necessity in the development of a sound mind. The impression on the unlooker such Turn meet makes gives rise to enthusiasm and patriotism. Look at them charging forward! and 30,000 strong arms cut the air with lightning precision. Such a spectacle imbues all of us with confidence in what those arms would do if raised for the defense of the Republic. But not merely does stimulation of the people's courage and con- fidence result from such a performance; it bears also a healthful reaction for the individual athlete. It must be sublime to each of them to know his 15,000 comrades actuated by the same spirit, exercising the same strength and the willingness to sacrifice their splendid bodies on the altar of their country. The Szviss gymnastic meet inculcates self -discipline and promotes a sense of duty to protect, but not to provoke. No other nation has such a highly developed system of physical training as Switzerland. The Swiss Turners frequently take the highest prizes at the contests of the great German Turnfeste and Fetes gymnastiques of France, keeping pace with their compatriot sharp- shooters who won the highest honors in 17 out of 18 international shoots. It is hardly necessary to point out the good resulting from such thorough traindng. The boys acquire obedi- ence and subjection to discipline, two qualities that are just as helpful in civilian life as in that of a soldier. 123 The great aim of the Swiss system of physical edu- cation is to train classes, teams — large groups of boys so as to implant a cooperative spirit, a spirit of "one for all and all for one." The tendency of American athletics is to stimulate individual rivalry while the Swiss gymnastic system aims at a collective training and team rivalry. Every indi- vidual of a team is made to feel that if he fails in the performance, the work of the whole suffers and the team falls behind. The Swiss knows that only the strictest discipHne and precise cooperation of every mem- ber of a gymnastic section leads to success. And is not the State only a big club, a team, the welfare of which depends on the spirit of organization and cooperation that lives in the individual citizens? A State can only succeed if every member is fit to do his part for the good of the whole, and what cannot be done if a spirit of rampant individualism prevails. Every citizen who realizes his own ultimate success de- pends on that of his neighbor has a conception of good citizenship. That the value of methodical physical training is not an imaginary or exaggerated one, but scientifically and practically proved, the following facts show : Of the young Swiss who reach their 20th year and have to pass a physical and mental examination for acceptance to the army, about 63^ per cent, are ac- cepted and 14 per cent, permanently rejected for defects. The remaining 22^ per cent, are rejected for re-exami- nation a year later, for such reasons as insufficient height or insufficient chest measurement. The military authorities send these young men through a special physical training course for the fol- 124 lowing year, and when they come for physical test the next year they are tall enough or their chests have ex- panded. That is an illustration of the practical and scientific value of physical training, of which the much dreaded military training without arms is the most im- portant branch. The Swiss government early recognized the value of physical training in schools as a means of preparedness. Article 102 of the Swiss Military Law makes it com- pulsory for each Canton to see to it that all males of school age receive physical training, and further provides that the Federal Government issue the course of the instruction for physical training teachers, and generally supervise the physical training of the boys. The danger that would have lain in permitting different systems to be in vogue in various Cantons was thus avoided. The necessity for uniformity and system in any ef- forts to develop the body was pointed out by Adolph Spiess, pioneer in the realm of school gymnastics. He set about painstakingly to select from the many exercises, those that were of real value, to separate the wheat from the chaff. Pupils and successors of Spiess fol- lowed the example their mentor had set. They assidu- ously continued to select, separate and classify the va- rious exercises, with the object of determining which were the most beneficial and to what ages of boyhood they were suited. At Basel, Switzerland, in 1870, Alfred Maul, Wilhelm Jenny and Frederick Iselin, all authorities on gymnastics, culminated a long period of exhaustive study, experi- ment and observation by producing a schedule laying down the ages at which boys should be instructed in each class of exercises. 125 A Manual of Physical Training AND Preparatory Military Instruction For Schools of the United States A MODIFIED SWISS SYSTEM INTENDED TO PROVIDE FOR THE STRONG COMMON NATIONAL DEFENSE OF AMERICA BY FREDERICK A. KUENZLI Assistant Appraiser Port of New York Graduate of Teacher's College of Wettingen, Switzerland, and of the ifecole Polytechnique F6d6rale at Zurich, Switzerland Formerly an Officer of the Swiss Army AND HENRY PANZER Maitre de Gyranastique ; Graduate of Berne, Switzerland ; Grossherzog liche Turnlehrer-Bildungsanstalt, Karlsruhe, Germany ; Baron Posse's Normal School of Gymnastics, Boston, Mass. ; Member of Massachusetts Medical Gymnastic Association, 1904 Teacher of Swedish Gymnastics and Lecturer on Kinesiology at Chautauqua, N. Y., 1916 WITH ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE ILLUSTRATIONS Neto gork THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1916 All rights reserved This work, while it did not yet devise a system devoid of faults, was an important step forward, and is a mile-stone on the way to the present perfection of Swiss physical instruction. Following the research of Maul, Jenny and IseHn, physiology came to be more and more a factor in scien- tific physical training. Physiological demands laid stress on exercises of rapidity, rather than those requiring force or skill, and there soon spread a more thorough understanding of the effect of the different exercises upon heart and lung action, circulation of the blood, metabolism, nutrition and other organic functions. Not the least of the accomplishments of the numerous students of the subject who gradually developed the Swiss system of physical training was the choice of exer- cises which tend to correct oppression of respiration and deformation of the spine, often resulting from the school- room posture. Instruction in physical training has been compulsory in all Swiss schools since 1874. The Federal govern- ment published its first manual in 1898 ; the manual was revised to include improvements in the system. A complete survey of the system and the manner in which instruction was being carried on, with the aim of bringing it to the highest possible state of perfection, was undertaken by the government in 1903. A commission composed of twelve masters of gym- nastics and a representative of the Military Department was named to investigate and formulate recommenda- tions for improvements. For nine years this commission pursued its labors, adopted whatever was of value from the German and Swedish systems and, by eliminating the useless or harm- 127 ful and adding exercises of merit, raised the Swiss system to the highest efficiency. The new manual, em- bodying these changes, was published in 1912 in the Ger- man language, in 19 14 in the French, and in 191 5 in Itahan. * It is the subjection to discipline instilled in the minds of the Swiss boy at school that makes that boy, when grown, a good soldier. And, after all, despite our friends who say warfare is no longer a struggle of men, it is the man who counts. Homer Lea in his wonderful work, "The Valor of Ignorance," speaks truly: "Warfare, either ancient or modern, has never been nor will ever be mechanical. There is no such possi- bility as the combat of instruments. It is the soldier that brings about victory or defeat. The knowledge of com- manders and the involuntary comprehension and obedi- ence to orders is what determines the issue of battles. As the instruments of warfare become more intricate, the discipline and 'esprit de corps' must be increased accordingly." There is the crux of the matter. The Swiss boy learns to "involuntarily comprehend and obey orders" in his physical training classes at school. You can bend the sapling, but not the tree. The lesson the Swiss learns as a boy he never forgets. Unfortunately, the feature of the Swiss system that has been most generally dwelt upon in the past is that compelling military service from every male adult who * The Author of this book with Henry Panzer, Director of physical training, published a "Manual of Physical Training and Preparatory Military Instruction for Schools of the United States." This work is along the lines of the Swiss system and has been adopted by several cities of the United States. 128 is physically and mentally fit, and exacting a tax of ex- emption from the unfit. Because the obligatory military service of the Swiss is extremely short, when contrasted with that of the great European powers, and yet the military efficiency of the Swiss is as great or greater than that of the sol- dier of Germany or France, where three consecutive years must be spent in the army, many people are at- tracted to it. But these same superficial advocates of the Swiss system miss the real point; the vital, underlying cause of Swiss efficiency escapes them, when they do not stop to realize it depends not on the short periods of com- pulsory service in the army, but on the foundation that every Swiss boy receives in the physical training courses in the public schools. // we in America are convinced that a system similar to the Szviss system would he a great addition to our national defense, then let us begin zvith the foundation of the hulding, not the roof. Swiss physical training inculcates in the boyish mind the instinct to instantly obey the spoken word of command. A good soldier must possess that instinct. Swiss physical training hardens and develops the body, renders the mind alert and implants in the youth's character the determination to do things, and do them right. Those are requisite attributes of a soldier. Swiss physical training instructs the boy in the ele- ments of military drill, and he is still familiar with them when, at 20 years of age, he reports to the recruit- ing office and undergoes a few weeks service and ma- neuvering in the fields. 129 Because he did become familiar with mihtary drill as a schoolboy, it requires only a few weeks, instead of three years, as in other countries, to make a competent soldier out of him. That fact alone suffices to demonstrate that the Swiss system does not foster militarism, but rather acts as a barrier against it. Switzerland had to be prepared if her national exist- ence was to be maintained. She could have prepared, as have other powers, by enforcing a long period of universal military service. She chose instead to prepare her youths in school when the time thus spent would mean no economic loss to either themselves or the country. America stands face to face with the problem. Either would be adequate for the needs of prepared- ness ; but the one is the way of despotism, the other that of a free people. One would work untold hard- ships on the citizens and hamper the economic develop- ment of the country. The other way would instill in the boy a yearning for the day when, as a man, he would be called upon to sacrifice a little time and eflfort for the Republic. The result of this system in Szvitzerland speaks for itself. With no standing army, the Alpine republic is, nevertheless, prepared to the minute. Where else on earth does a similar condition obtain? Is there any logic- al reason why it should not obtain in America? We have the material — our boys. We have the facilities — our public schools. We have the need — our lack of preparedness. We have the example — Switzerland. 130 CHAPTER VIII. Cadet corps complement physical instruction in Swiss schools. — Almost universal, even where it is voluntary. — Boy gains rudiments of military drill and tactics and learns to shoot. — Natural sprit of youth utilized to advantage of boyhood and the nation. — Awaken keener interest in study of history. — Tactical lessons in account of Bunker Hill.— Rules and re- sults of cadet corps system in Langnau. — Rifle practice.— Cadet corp5 develop both body and character. Second only to the physical training they receive as a part of the public school curriculum in the prepared- ness of Swiss boys, is the cadet corps service they under- go. In some places such service is compulsory, in others voluntary; but everywhere it is almost universal among boys of secondary schools, so firmly has the passion for preparedness taken hold of the Swiss people. The re- sults of the cadet corps system fully justify its existence in Switzerland, and speak louder than could any words in arguing for the adoption of a similar plan in the United States. Along with his physical training in school the Swiss boy receives instructions in the rudiments of military drill without arms. In the cadet corps he takes military drills zifith arms, in the open field where he can become proficient in extended order and light tactics, and learns, besides, to handle a rifle and qualify as a marksman. Why are we so timid about having our boys taught to stand at attention, to march, to run, to align, to form squads, to drill in closed and open formation? Why are we so laughingly, childishly afraid to teach our boys to handle a rifle, if they volunteer to learn? 131 How many are there among us who, when boys, did not spend hours every week playing soldier? Why not utilize this spirit of our youngsters for the good of our country? Why not lead the enthusiasm for charge and self- defense, for shooting arrows, brandishing wooden swords, shouldering guns, into channels of systematic training under expert supervision with real weapons ? Every boy likes a uniform because of its attractive- ness and, to a certain extent, its democracy. The cadet, like the soldier, wants to be seen; therefore he does not confine his activity to gallery ranges and gyms, but marches through the streets behind the martial drum. He wants his exercise in the field, he wants his target practice and to fight sham battles, and the cadet of the near future will want to dig trenches. The cadet will attract the boy standing on the curb, watching others like himself marching to the strains of patriotic music, garbed in natty uniforms and with shouldered guns, and will be straightway filled with the desire to join a cadet corps himself. History instills the root of patriotism. The descrip- tion of the deeds of our forefathers, their struggles in the molding of the Union, their sense of righteousness, their spirit of independence and liberty, their determi- nation to protect with the sword, if necessary, the in- tegrity and progress of the Nation, their zeal to build up legislation, agriculture, industry and commerce produces an inspiring effect in the heart of the boy. The con- viction that by the deeds of the great men in the life of the Union and by the cheerful support given them, we are enabled to enjoy today the citizenship of the greatest nation on earth, awakes admiration, thankful- 132 ness, and love for the land and its people — in other words, creates patriotism. Immediately the boy desires to follow the example, fashion his walk in life after that of one of the Nation's great men who contributed to the honor of the State. An able-bodied^ physically strong man, with a sound and open mind, is the ideal citizen. The man who is a use- ful servant to Uncle Sam in time of peace and an ef- fective defender in time of war, is a real American. To the schoolboy who receives military training United States history has a much greater interest and stirs his patriotic impulses much more, than the one without a cadet's training, for whom history is generally a mass of dates and a description of military happenings he does not understand. The whole War of Independ- ence from the Battle of Bunker Hill to the crowning victory of Yorktown is one lesson after another for our boys as to the value of military training. The initial contest between the British and our minute-men and militia at Bunker Hill in itself bears the foundation for a manual on tactics. The historian tells us, that at the council of war which decided upon the occupation of Bunker Hill, Putnam said: "The Americans are never afraid of their heads, they only think of their legs; shelter them and they will fight forever." Putnam expressed thereby a military principle, the truthfulness of which every one of our wars emphasized and which holds good to our present day. When the schoolboy reads what a magnificent specta- cle it was for the Americans to see 3,000 picked British veterans marching up hill in solid columns, their bayo- nets gleaming, and of Prescott's order: "Don't fire until 133 you see the whites of their eyes," as a cadet he assimi- lates and appHes simple tactical problems and draws the conclusions : 1. It was wrong for the English troops to march in closed formation when exposed to the fire of an enemy. 2. The Americans, seeing the mistake of the enemy, kept cool and did not bang away at the on marching Britishers, but waited for the command to fire, which proves that they were well-disciplined troops. 3. Prescott showed an officer's good judgment and tactical knowledge by giving the famous order, manifest- ing thereby that the fire is to be used whenever it is most effective and a surprise. 4. Prescott's order was short, clear, and to the point, as military orders have to be. He did not confuse his men with figures as to the distance they should fire at the enemy, neither did he distract the concentration of the mind of his men to that sublime moment of firing and surprise, by giving long-winded advice. When Stark was urged to quicken the step of his men, when they came under artillery fire on the way to the breastworks, he replied : "One fresh man in action is worth ten fatigued ones," teaching his fellow officers that preventing a probable loss of his own troops was not as important as to do the greatest possible damage to the enemy. Furthermore we are told that when the English, with fine pluck, made a third attack, the Americans found their ammunition gone and were compelled to use their guns as clubs, for they had no bayonets. What was the cause of their shortage in ammunition? More than probably because the Americans thought that they had 134 enough for the emergency. They were not prepared. And the lack of bayonets was also a sign of un- preparedness. Whether it was ignorance as to the necessity for more powder and of having bayonets or whether the lack of material caused the unfortunate condition, is now immaterial, but it bears the lesson that: The state of unpreparedness caused a battle conducted by excellent officers and brave men to be a defeat for the Americans insofar as the British succeeded in taking Breed's Hill, and thereby made possible their remaining in Boston. The lesson of the Battle of Bunker Hill is only one ex- ample of the manifold benefits the students of history and the schoolboy can derive if he is, by the medium of military training, able to draw conclusions valuable to him personally and to his beloved country in general. In the Civil War of 1861-65, the statistics of the War Department prove that less than 25% of those enlisted were men of 21 years of age and over, that Boys won that war that made us a united people. Of the total en- listment of 5,175,320; 681,044 were men of from 22 to 45 years of age and over; 2,334,478 were boys from 10 to 18 years of age, and 2,139,798 were young men from 18 to 22 years of age. A good insight into the workings of the cadet corps system in Switzerland may be learned from the rules adopted for the corps, service in which is compulsory for the secondary schoolboys of the town of Langnau in the Canton of Bern, Boys in the elementary classes who have reached the age of eleven may join the cadet corps in Langnau, but are not compelled to do so. Only a medical certificate of disability will suffice to gain a boy dispensation from his three years' cadet 135 corps service. Expenses incidental to a pupil's partici- pation in cadet corps training are borne by the munici- palities in the event of his being unable to aiford the necessary outlay. Instructors of the Langnau cadet corps, as in all others in Switzerland, are men holding commissions in the Swiss army. A cadet corps commission recommends the instructors to be appointed, fixes their salaries and adopts the cadet corps budget. General supervision of instruction and training is another duty of this commission, and it also appoints officers and non-commissioned officers from the ranks of thiC cadets, after consideration of a report from the school faculty on the qualification of the boys. Arms, uniforms and other equipment are prescribed by the commission. Cadets are subject to general rules of good discipline. Absence from instruction, which takes place between one and five o'clock on afternoons when regular school classes are not in session, is dealt with under the school rules governing absence. Instructors are empowered to inflict discipHnary punishment for grave offenses, but it is provided that such shall not exceed three hours' confinement in the daytime. Applications to have the cadet corps participate in parades or other public functions are passed on by the Board of Education. It is provided, however, that the cadet corps shall never be called out for police duty or any other sort of service except cadet corps instruction. It should gratify those opposed to military instruction for its own sake to know that the official statement out- lining the aims of the Langnau cadet corps characterizes 136 the military organisation of the corps as a means, rather than an end. "Purely military aims remain in the background," this prospectus reads, "the main purpose of the strict discipline in vogue being to attain the requisite mobility of so large a body of boys." ■ "Cadet corps training compliments the physical train- ing received within the schools," continues this exposition of the system. "Its aims are to give the boys physical exercise in the open air, the benefit of outdoor life in general, develop their self-control and resoluteness, and imbue them with the spirit of cooperation. A good ap- pearance, correct posture and gentlemanly deportment are strikingly visible results of cadets corps training." The cadet corps consists of infantry, complemented by a fife and a drum corps. The commission has the authority to add other branches, with the consent of the Board of Education, if it be deemed advisable. Cadets are taught to comport themselves courteously to- ward their comrades and adults, they are expected to present themselves for drill with prescribed equipment and neat appearance and to obey their superiors promptly and cheerfully. They are permitted to wear their uni- forms at other times then when exercising, but are strictly forbidden to use their rifles or sabres outside training hours. The organization of cadet corps is modelled after that of the Swiss Army, boys who have reached their seventh school year being eligible to be made non-com- missioned officers, and those in their eighth year com- missioned officers. A cadet's rank does not, however, permit him to employ the corresponding military title outside, nor are cadet officers authorized to impose any 137 punishment on their subordinates. Violation of the rules must be reported by them to the instructor. Cadets do not tender salute to their superiors except while at train- ing. The instructors are likewise required to investigate any complaints by citizens in regard to the conduct of cadets. For shooting exercises the cadets use a miniature model of the Swiss Army rifle. On August 20, 191 5, the Military Department adopted a revised course to govern the shooting program of cadet corps. It consists of preparatory exercises and rifle shooting practice. Summarized, it is as follows : A. Preparation. a. Preparatory physical exercises, as given in the manu- al of physical training. b. Loading, aiming and firing, according to manual of arms and firing manual. c. Knowledge of rifle necessary to its handling, use and care. If the cadet is able to aim, and properly release triggers he may commence with the firing. At least 30 hours should be devoted to the foregoing preparatory exercises. B. Rifle Shooting. Rifle shooting comprises: a. Practicing. b. Tests. By practicing the cadet must gain confidence in him- self and in his rifle so that he may be able to fulfill the requirements of the tests. 138 For each firing class an average of 20 cartridges per cadet shall be available for practicing, of which at least 15 should be used by every boy. A minimum of 5 shots is to be fired in prone position with supported barrel. For support, pieces of sod, sacks with sand, may be used. A cadet shall not be permitted to take the tests until a good result is to be expected. If necessary, practice shots may be repeated. The following tests, at 5 shots each, shall form the main shooting exercises. Course I. Exercise. Range. Target. Position. Score Minimum. 1. 100 meters A prone 9 points, 4 hits 2. 100 meters A kneehng 9 points, 4 hits 3. 200 meters A prone (sup- ported barrel) 8 points, 4 hits Course IL Exercise Range. Target. Position. Score Minimum. I. 200 meters A prone 9 points, 4 hits 2. 200 meters A kneeling 9 points, 4 hits 3. 200 meters B prone 7 points, 3 hits 4- 300 meters A prone (sup- ported barrel) 9 points, 4 hits Good marksmen may shoot I (3) and II (4) prone, without support. All cadets must first pass Test I. If the minimum score is not obtained the test shall be repeated. In case of failure the second time, the cadet shall go back to 139 the preparatory exercises and then to repetition of the first test. Only after successfully passing a test shall the cadet be permitted to try the sucCeding one. No one shall be permitted to any test more than three times. The tests of Course II are for the second year and only for those boys who passed successfully the tests of Course I, all others must repeat tests of Course I. Those that pass successfully the tests of Course II may shoot the tests for boys of the "Armed preparatory Course" (Course III). As a rule no cadet shall shoot more than 15 shots per day. The scores of the tests are to be recorded in the score card. For the practice exercises only the number of shots need to be recorded. The cadet corps system in vogue throughout Switzer- land has worked wonders moulding the boys of the na- tion into men, fit in every respect to fight the battle of life successfully, and to fight successful battles for their country, too, should need arise. Such a system is not militarism; it is just the result of the hard common sense of the people who instituted it, a quality sadly lacking among the gentry who roll their eyes in horror every time it is suggested that American public schools set about the business of manu- facturing red-blooded manhood out of the youthful ma- terial placed in their charge. Cadet corps training imbues a boy with a high sense of honor, it usually relieves his mind of the idea that he ought to be a bully or a rowdy, and it develops his body. It requires a peculiarly twisted mentality to dis- cern harm in such a program of accomplishment as that. 140 CHAPTER IX. The Swiss Cadet Corps training and Physical Training in the Public Schools of the City of Hoboken, N. J.— "United States Public School Cadets First Regiment, Hoboken, N. J." — By A. J. Demarest, Superintendent of Schools. The wave of enthusiasm for adequate preparedness which swept this country during the 64th session of Congress took a practical turn in the City of Hoboken on February 29th, 1916, when Mayor Patrick R. Griffin, desirous of placing his City in the first ranks of those doing their share toward national preparedness, issued a call to two hundred representative citizens to assemble at the City Hall for the purpose of discussing the domi- nant question of national preparedness. The main feature of that remarkable gathering of patriotic men was an illustrated lecture by Frederick A. Kuenzli on ''Switzerland prepared and at peace, a model for the United States." After picturing the democratic compulsory service which gives Switzerland immunity against invasion, Mr. Kuenzli said, ''Unfortunately, the feature of the Swiss System that has been most generally dwelt upon in the past is that compelling military service from every male adult who is physically and mentally fit, and exact- ing a tax of exemption from the unfit. Because the obligatory military service of the Swiss is extremely short, when contrasted with that of the great European powers, and yet the military efficiency of the Swiss is 141 as great or greater than that of the soldier of Germany or France, where three consecutive years must be spent in the army, many people are attached to it. But these same superficial advocates' of the Sv^riss System miss the real point; the vital underlying cause of Swiss efficiency escapes them when they do not stop to realize it depends not on the short periods of compulsory service in the army, but on the foundation that every Swiss boy re- ceives in the physical training courses in the public schools and the military training in school cadets corps and preparatory courses." The emphasis with which the lecturer pointed out the benefit of school physical training and military train- ing for the future manhood appealed to all present at the meeting; especially, the following points stood out in favor of the Swiss System of training for boys : a. The American Public School, the pillar of exist- ence of our Republic, the institution which makes men, the sower of patriotism, must also be the instrument through which the future citizen is trained to protect the State should necessity arise. b. A sound mind can only be developed to its ma- turity in a sound body, therefore the education of mind and body should be recognized as associate functions in the school curriculum, neither being neglected at the cost of the other. c. Physical and Military Training make for the physical well-being of the boy; they implant obedience and discipline, and they prepare the boy so that he be- comes an able defender of the Stars and Stripes. d. The school cadet corps training has a demo- cratizing influence in that any boy can become a cadet 142 because the equipment and instruction are furnished gratis. Private cadet corps are generally an expensive matter and therefore open only to sons of well-to-do parents. e. The supervision of the cadet corps is in the hands of the public authorities. The same people we choose to guide and guard the mental welfare of our boys are the proper persons to make provision for such work as will restrain hundreds of youngsters who are bubbling over with the spirit of freedom and patriotism. Mayor Griffin, the City Commissioners, the members of the Board of Education, and large numbers of promi- nent citizens were deeply impressed with the patriotic talk of Mr. Kuenzli ; and it remained for the energetic Mayor to recommend the introduction of physical and military training in the public schools — thus Hoboken was not numbered among the cities that have spent much time in discussing preparedness and letting it go at that. But, on the contrary, Hoboken took the lead and, for this, much credit is due to the Mayor, the City Commis- sioners, and the members of the Board of Education. This action of the city authorities was backed by a healthy public sentiment, and a resolution appropriating $5,000 to equip and instruct a cadet corps, and to insti- tute in the public schools of the city compulsory physical training for all boys and girls from the second year through the high school grades, was introduced and passed by the Board of Commissioners. The Board of Education took up the project at once and a decision was reached to establish physical training courses to begin with the opening of school in the Fall term, but to organize a cadet corps of five hundred boys immediately. 143 An illustration of the spirit that animated the mem- bers of the Board of Education we find in the address in which President James P. Laverty outlined the pro- gram. Mr. Laverty said:' "Fidelity to public duty requires mental education and physical development of the youth. We seek to progress the mind, but we neglect the advancement of the physique of the child at school. "Compulsory physical training should be included in the course of study in the schools of Hoboken. Bodily discipline in early life is an important factor in the de- velopment of the sturdy man or woman who is to fight life's battles. "It is suggested that in each primary grammar school one-half hour (two fifteen-minute periods) in each school-day be allotted for physical exercises by the pupils ; progressive calisthenic instruction will develop muscles which otherwise would remain latent, would make for strong, agile boys and girls, respect for the laws of health, stir the blood in the veins, bring a glow to the cheeks and awaken energy. Bright minded pupils would abound in this school district. "Organize classes of instruction along military lines for both boys and girls for the purpose of promoting a proper personal bearing, a bodily uplift, and an ease of movement and self-confidence. "Drill both the boys and girls, instruct them in disci- pline and control ; give them a keen regard for authority, responsive to obedience ; inculcate a respect for each other ; a loyalty to their City, State, and Country. "Give to the girls a special course in 'first-aid work,' inspire them to work quickly and efficiently when a public occasion demands intense action. 144 "Give to the boys complete instruction in manual of arms, frequent drilling and marching, full routine of army life and practice. Arouse an abiding faith and loyalty in America and its institutions, making for the highest degree of citizenship, not necessarily confirmed in the dogma of militarism. "Physical and military training will result in grace- fully strong and mentally healthy, alert boys and girls, who will walk with shoulders erect and correct poise and carriage which will command attention and approval." As provided in the resolution adopted by the Mayor and Commissioners, a Cadet Corps known as "The United States Public School Cadets, First Regiment, Hoboken, New Jersey," was organized at a meeting of the Board of Education held on March 27th, 1916. Five hundred boys representing all the grammar and high school grades were enlisted after having presented notes from the parents who expressed hearty approval of the plan and gave assurances of their desire to co- operate with the school authorities in the first steps to- ward military training in the public schools. Officers of the National Guard were secured to in- struct the several groups of cadets, the boys of two different schools meeting at one centre, under one in- structor. Regular drills were held three times each week for 45-minute periods after the close of school. At the end of one month's drilling in this way, the cadets reported at the Armory in the City Hall where the Head Drill-Master met the several groups and there was given the first inspection drill. It is needless to say that there was much enthusiasm shown and no little rivalry for honors for the separate groups. The citizens were given an opportunity at this time to witness an I4S inspiring and stirring scene. And at this inspection drill the Cadet Corps and Military Training were given the seal of approval by the people of Hoboken. The boys drilled in uniforms consisting of leggings, coat, trousers, cap, cap ornament, and gun furnished by the Board of Education at a cost of $3.15 for the suit and $3.00 for the gun. The total cost of instruction for a period covering from March 15, 19 16, to October i, 1916, was $1,046.13. The Head Drill-Master receiving a salary of $1,200 per year; and the Assistant Drill- Master an annual salary of $500. During the organi- zation of the corps six assistants, members of the Na- tional Guard were employed at the rate of $1 per drill. The Cadets had a prominent place in the Municipal Parade held on May 30th, 19 16, and again gave cause to the citizens to realize that the introduction of Military Training was a step in advance in the educational scheme of our country. At the opening of schools in September 1916, weekly drills for the Cadets were inaugurated — so that once each week, the boys report at school in uniform and at dismissal of school assemble for instruction under the Drill-Master. We find a continued enthusiasm among the boys and, in consequence, have no difficulty in filling the ranks of cadets who graduated from school or those who move from the City. In fact, it has been necessary for us to arrange a waiting list of boys eligible for the Cadet Corps. This plan does not apply to the High School where every boy enrolled in the school assembles for military drill one day each week. That much about the First Regiment of Uniteci States Public School Cadets. 146 jr> ^'- Mi0^^^ Swiss Infantry on Skis. One of the interesting sections of the Rh.etian Railway in THE Canton of the Grisons. 4*. jie.li jA Jl p, -^|f. « dL is?.; :■■ ^mi M ' I .r^ ^^IMNh /^ 1 — ^ ' Infantry Company kkady for I-nsi'ia i ion. V ^ \....:^.. j^iK * '•*-. 3- ^J»r- < Artillery Staff Directing Gun Fire. What the public at large thought of it as a contri- bution to our country's preparedness, the following edi- torials of the "Hudson Observer" may show : HOBOKEN LEADS THE WAY. "To-morrow's Memorial Day Parade in Hoboken will be of more than usual interest because of the fact that it will mark the initial public appearance of the First Regi- ment, Public School Cadets of America. While the spirit of preparedness has been agitated all over the country, Hoboken was the first municipality to do something else besides discuss the question and quickly adopted the plan of compulsory military training in the public schools by organizing a regiment of cadets among the boys of the public schools. "As has been told in these columns, a regiment of the boys has been formed, provided with uniforms and fully equipped, has undergone quite some training, under the direction of competent drillmasters, and will march to- morrow for the first time in a public parade. It has not only instilled a deeper feeling of patriotism in the boys themselves, but the feeling has extended to the parents and relatives of the youngsters who will line the sidewalks of the streets through which the parade will pass to-morrow to cheer and encourage them. Not only will Hoboken people turn out in force to view the pro- cession, but it is anticipated that thousands of people from neighboring municipalities will be present to wit- ness the showing made by the youngsters who are now being prepared to defend Old Glory should such an occasion arise in the future. "That the First Regiment of Public School Cadets will win favor to-morrow and share honors with the 147 gallant remnant of the heroes who fought for the flag during the Rebellion is assured. It will be a great day for Hoboken, and Hobokenites will have every reason to feel proud of the fact that the Mile Square City is the first to show by actual work that they are in favor of preparedness." MEMORIAL DAY IN HOBOKEN. "The residents of Hoboken have occasion to feel proud of the Memorial Day observance. The parade was the best ever held in the city, with the possible exception of the parade at the unveiling of the monument erected to the soldiers and sailors who gave up their lives in defense of the Union. The veterans of the Civil War in the line were few, only seventeen of the hundreds of gallant men who enlisted from Hoboken being physic- ally able to participate, but the same spirit that actuated the veterans to offer their services to their country in the early sixties moved the men and youths who marched so proudly on Tuesday under the national colors. They, too, will answer the call to battle for the preservation of the nation. The appearance of the First Regiment of United States Public School Cadets, and to Hoboken belongs the honor as the first city in which they have been organized, was an agreeable surprise. Although this regiment was only recently formed, the boys showed the deep interest they have taken in the preparedness policy, for they have made splendid progress in training. They marched and drilled like old soldiers and merited the hearty applause showered upon them by the enthusi- astic spectators along the line who must have been con- vinced that if the United States should be unfortunately 148 involved in war Hoboken will be ready to supply its quota or more of brave young men to fight for the old flag. "Mayor Griffin and the Commissioners were highly pleased at the splendid showing made on Decoration Day." — Hudson Observer, June i, 1916. In connection with military drills for boys, I want to add a few words about the adoption of compulsory physical training for all boys and girls eight years of age and above. And I must confess that this part of preparedness in schools promised more difficulties than did the cadet corps. To enact the Swiss System with the open-air exer- cises, gymnastics on apparatus and instruction by male teachers, was impossible for the simple reason that we had no playgrounds for a majority of the schools; that of our three hundred teachers hardly two dozen were males and few of these able to instruct in physical train- ing. But the thing had to be started. I therefore pro- posed to the exponents of the Swiss System and to the then appointed Director of Physical Training to outline a program of instruction, beginning with simple exer- cises for the schoolroom, and to be demonstrated by every class-teacher. I proposed that for one week before the opening of School after the summer holiday, the teachers receive instruction for one hour each day so that they in turn would be made efficient for the teaching of this work to their classes. I suggested that these simple physical exercises be given fifteen minutes each day; and that the physical instructor present each new lesson to the 149 teachers so that, in a short time, a complete course would have been given and the work systematically presented. This was followed out by the school authori- ties and, with very few exceptions, the teachers re- sponded wonderfully to the new work. Of course tables prepared according to the Manual of Physical Training by Kuenzli and Panzer are a great help to the teacher. The Director of Physical Training acts in a super- visory capacity, instructs classes of older boys, and de- monstrates instruction to the teaching staff. It is our plan to install stationary apparatus in all available school yards and then, by the Spring of 1917, we shall be able to begin the regular gymnastic classes as provided in the Swiss System. Contrary to my anticipations, I am pleased to state that in the introduction of physical training we did not meet with the difficulties which we felt justified under the circumstances to expect. Our physical director, a young man, is intensely interested in his work; he is popular with the teachers and is ambitious to make his work an unqualified success. The parents and pupils are interested because they are beginning to see the real benefits of work which has for its object the better physical development of our boys and girls. And the teachers are enthusiastic in the introduction of a real work for which there has been a long-felt want in the curriculum of our public schools. I am confident that the subject of physical training has passed through the experimental stage in this City and that today we have a better discipline in our schools ; and a more healthful spirit for service which comes with a healthy mind in a healthy body. 150 CHAPTER X. Troops with strongest nerves will triumph.— Necessity of hard- ening body. — Suggestions as to the establishment of a Federal system of compulsory physical training. Someone said that the troops which had the strong- est nerves would finally triumph over their adversaries in the European War. More than a little truth was contained in that assertion. The stupendousness of the struggle, the strain and rack to which both body and mind in such a conflict are subjected, require nerves to be of steel if they are not to snap. It should be evident to all who have interested them- selves in the subject that successful warfare is becoming as much, if not more, a matter of ability to withstand the mental pressure entailed by days upon days in the trenches, where one is deafened by horrific and unending noises, and the ability of the body to hold up under hardships, fatigue, exposure and ill-nourishment, as it is of the individual soldier being well-drilled and a com- petent marksman. That ability of soldiers' mind and body to withstand such devitalizing forces is likely to be the determining factor in the future warfare. None will question the statement that, with few ex- ceptions, the adult who possesses a sound constitution, hardened body and steady nerves is he who either lived an outdoor life or underwent some sort of physical train- ing as a boy. Seldom does the weakling in youth develop into the athlete in manhood. The nervous system of a 151 human being is so closely related to, and its usefulness so dependent upon the soundness of the body's parts and organs ; that the more harmoniously developed and hard- ened the body of a soldier is, the greater his chances of retaining his efficiency through the nerve-racking hours on the battlefield. Your soldier of the future, then, must be a man of iron. The foundation must be laid in early youth. It is futile to try to bend the full-grown tree. Strong nerves, athletic body, subjection to discipline and the zeal to cooperate with his fellows for the good of the re- public are all attributes implanted during the physical training exercises of the Swiss public schools. Start now to give American boys, from the age of eight until they leave school, a systematic course of physical training, uniform throughout the country; or- ganize cadet corps for the older boys wherein they can get the benefit of the exercise in the open, learn the rudiments of miHtary drill and become proficient with the rifle ; crown it all with a few weeks of universal military training in their 19th, 20th and 21st years, and America will be saved both from the perils to which her present non-preparedness exposes her, and the evils of militarism that would follow the establishment of a large standing army — ^the only alternative. The purpose of the present chapter is to explain by what methods the first step in this program — adoption of a uniform, compulsory system of physical training, throughout all the States — can be successfully under- taken. The States, themselves, must be looked to for enact- ment of legislation compelling physical instruction to be made a part of the pubHc school curriculum. New York 152 State has already blazed the trail in the Welsh-Slater acts rendering physical training for all pupils in schools, and military training for boys, between i6 and 19 years old, who are in school, compulsory. The New York law takes the Swiss system as a model, this course being adopted after a most exhaustive inquiry by the legis- lature committees charged with investigating every phase of the project. The danger is in the chance that various States, once convinced that some system of physical training is ad- visable, may jeopardize complete success by the adoption of widely-differing systems, preventing uniformity and creating a hodge-podge that will surely detract from the efficiency of the general result. In this particular, Swit- zerland with her more centralized government, has an advantage over the United States. The twenty-one Swiss Cantons have no choice but to train the boys in their public schools strictly according to the one manual of physical instruction authorized by the Federal Gov- ernment. The United States government, while it has not the power to compel the States to adopt a uniform system, or any system at all for that matter, for use in the public schools, can immeasurably assist bringing such a com- munication to pass. The adoption by the national gov- ernment of a model system of physical training and a plan for the organization of cadet corps, coupled with the provision that the government bear a proportion of the cost of equipment and instruction, in much the same manner as it furnishes arms and uniforms to the Nation- al Guards of the States, would work wonders in bringing State legislatures and school authorities to look at the thing in a reasonable light. 153 •TV^ !3,000 HEAR PLEAS Military Training for All Chil- dren Advocated at Huge Mass Meeting. MILITIA LEADERS SPEAK Former Lieutenant Shows Contrast of Mobilization in Switzerland and United States. More than S.O'OO persons, a gathering that filled the state armory drill shed almost to capacity, last night heard spea.kers laud the S-wiss military pre- paredness plan as the most practical and efficient for the United States, and urge its adoption in New York stale through the passage of the bill of As- semblyman Clarence F. "Welsh, which calls for training in the schools, pre- paratory to forming a lAllitary defense. Assemblyman Welsh. Major General John P. O'Ryan, commanding the New York state national guard; Brigadier General Louis W. Stotesbury, adjutant general, and Frederick W. Kuenzli, formerly a lieutenant in the Swiss army, declared training should be made obligatory uporf school children, and Report of the "Knickerbocker Press," Albany, N. Y., of March 30, 1916, on the mass-meeting in favor of the Welsh-Slater bills for Physical Training and Military Training in the schools of the State of New York. the she pres ini Above all else, military training of boys, both without arms in school and with arms in cadet corps, should be not only uniform throughout the nation, but should be taken from the "Infantry Drill Regulations of the U. S. Army," if the purpose of such training is to be to so edu- cate the boy that he will need only a short period of service as an adult to be rounded into shape as a first- rate soldier. Who does not remember the weary days following the Declaration of War in 1898 spent in drill- ing the thousands of utterly raw recruits who volun- teered to fight the Spaniards? It is doubtful if the most of them were in condition to go to the front, had they been needed, by the time peace was concluded. But had those same volunteers been men who, in their boyhood, had been taught to march, face, align, deploy and reconnoitre, and made familiar with the manual of arms, can anyone doubt transforming them into soldiers would have been comparatively simple? Physical instruction in American public schools, as in Switzerland, should be given by public school teachers, and, to attain the best results, the course teachers would undergo to qualify for such work should be specifically laid down by the national government. The receiving of governmental aid could be made contingent upon a State authorizing such teachers only as had qualified as such to become instructors of physical training. The salient points of a system of physical training for boys, with which each State in the Union could be asked to comply are : I. Establishment as part of the school curriculum for boys from the age of eight onward, of compulsory physical training, with qualified school-teachers as the 155 instructors, and under the supervision of the regular educational authorities. 2. The division of physical training into three courses, scientifically determined according to the ages of the pupils, so as not to overtax their strength, but rather to progress gradually in the exercises. Games and free exercises should largely feature the instruction given to the boys in the first course, the formal and more arduous exercises being for the older boys. The first course should end when the boy reaches the age of ten and the second when he is thirteen, while he would continue the third course until he finished school. 3. Encouragement of all pupils to work together, by training them in classes, so that the weaker are spurred on the greater achievement and the stronger held back from overexertion. It is always the ability of the aver- age of the mass that determines the efficiency of an army, "The strength of the wolf is the pack, but the strength of the pack is the wolf," as Kipling puts it. Working in cooperation always stimulates obedience and promotes discipline. 4. Even in athletic exercises the competition should be largely between classes or teams of boys, rather than between individuals. 5. "Hikes" and marching exercises are sorely needed, as the failure of many National Guard units to come up to the standard in this particular, proves. But such marching should be in close order, and not consist of straggling groups. Thus would the poor walker be en- couraged to greater effort. Endurance, alertness, and cultivation of a love for nature, as well as ability in marching and discipline are results of properly con- 156 ducted "hikes." Singing in chorus can be made a pleas- ure feature of marching. 6. Physical training courses should cover the entire school year, and there should be at least two hours' training for each class a week. 7. States should provide for a drill and playground near every public schoolhouse. 8. Requisite stationary apparatus for instruction in physical training should be installed in every public school yard. 9. The War Department should provide for in- spectors who would see to it that States receiving Gov- ernment support are conformed to the prescribed pro- gram of physical training. 10. The State authorities should be required to re- port, at least every two years, to the War Department, on the conduct and progress of the training and the con- dition of grounds and apparatus. 11. Instructions for teachers of physical training should be given in State Normal Schools and teachers' colleges. In such schools physical training should be an obligatory subject for at least three hours per week, and also obligatory for a State teacher's certificate. 12. The War Department should provide special summer courses annually for physical training teachers. 157 CHAPTER XI. After the war — what? — The world will both hate and envy Amer- ica. — Lesson of the Deutschland and U-53. — Building battle- ships with no men for the crews. — Failure of army recruiting. — National Guard not up to expectation. — Our only hope is universal training. — State's sovereign right to preserve itself. — Permanent world peace an idle dream. — Shall our foes find us weak? What does America intend to do against the time when, the European war ended, she will find herself equally the object of Europe's envy and Europe's hatred? And if fancied security is conceived in the exhaustion of Europe after the war, what say you of the more bitter hatred and deeper envy of Asia, not weakened, not exhausted, but everlastingly prepared to strike ? The common saying that "the world is a small place, after all" was strikingly emphasized when the feats of the German submarines Deutschland and U-53 demon- strated that America's hopes of immunity from attack because of her isolation were unfounded. If the U-53, could sink enemy merchant vessels barely outside the three-mile territorial limit of the United States, what would hinder some other U-boat or fleet of U-boats crossing the Atlantic and torpedoing American warships ? And if the Atlantic can be traversed by submarines, so can the Pacific. The answer is that we must build a navy so powerful with provision for defense against submarine attack, that the danger will be eliminated. Congress has pro- 158 vided for a great navy, you say. Has it done so, all things considered? Ships, yes; but how about the men to man the ships? When the superdreadnaught Arizona went into commission October i6, 19 16, it was necessary to almost deplete the crews of the comparatively new superdreadnaughts Kansas, Vermont and New Hamp- shire to man the Arizona. The other three vessels neces- sarily went into the reserve, as useless to the nation in time of sudden need as though they were birch bark canoes. Turn to the army! The last Congress provided for increasing the force of regulars by about 35,000 men. Recruiting stations were opened, premiums of $5.00 were offered for persuading men to enlist, every conceivable inducement was offered to able-bodied men to join the army. What came of it? The army is no larger than it was before. Out of one hundred million people there could not be found 35,000 men who would come for- ward to comply with their country's request for what would be at best a very insufficient first line of defense. With no men to man our ships, with it already proven impossible to raise the army strength through voluntary enlistment, and with the National Guard hold- ing out no longer any attraction to the youth of the country, who will be at the triggers to repel an invading foe when our hour strikes? There will be no one unless we resolve now to adopt a system of military training — universal and compulsory that will give us in time a reserve of millions of men, pursuing each his ordinary vocation in life, not merely willing, but able to fall into line, shoulder a gun and become at a minute's notice a unit in the most splendid army of defense the world has ever known. 159 Of what avail that the great majority of American men would respond to a call for volunteers in time of need? Of what use would they be if they were un- trained? One might as well'try to take out an insurance policy after one's house had caught afire, as to begin training to be soldiers after a foreign foe had declared war and had launched an attacking force against us. There are probably but few citizens, able to go to war, who would not volunteer in time of pressing national peril. Any who hesitated to do so would not deserve the name of citizens. But the fact is, we are facing real peril right now. The trouble is that not enough of us realize it to impel us to prepare to meet it. Self-preser- vation, therefore, demands that the Republic, exercising its sovereign right and will and wisdom, step in and com- pel us to so fit ourselves that we will be able to defend our cherished homes and loved ones. Those of us who cannot see a dangerous lack of preparedness in our Volunteer System should consent to Universal Training and Service for the wonderful im- provement it would have on health, vigor and vitality of our entire Nation. What "The World" says editorially of the National Guard Service at the border, is an observation made generally of boys who train for the sake of their country : "SOLDIERING FOR SELF-IMPROVEMENT. "Nothing was more observed in the guardsmen of the returning Seventh, as in those of the Seventy-First, the Fourteenth and other commands in other places, than their abounding physical health, their vigor and self- confidence. i6o "The men on the border have endured the mid- summer heat of a trying cHmate with much of the labor and some of the hardships of actual warfare. Their gain in health and strength in such conditions testifies to the value of discipline and of ordered, balanced ex- ercise out of doors under expert instruction. "If the World should ever become a convert to con- scription, it would not be from fear of the Japanese toasting in sake the fall of San Francisco or of German guns trimming down the Woolworth Building. "It would be because training might instill into the unlicked American cub the instinct of solidarity, the habit of discipline and the physical well-being of systematic exercise. "Universal military service appeals to its most ra- tional supporters not because it is military but because it is universal and because it is service." Enough credit can hardly be given to President Woodrow Wilson for keeping the National Guard in training at the border. The six months of service netted Uncle Sam 150,000 additional men fit to take the field in any emergency. But the mobilization and border service of the Guard opened also the eyes of our citizens as to the absolute necessity to abolish our present Na- tional Military system. The dual harness of State and Federal organization, oath and allegiance seems to be rather a setback than an improvement of the efficiency of the National Guard if the refusal of 40,000 guardsmen to take the Federal oath, and the great number of them, refusing to reinlist is any sign of the true state of affairs. It is idle to talk of permanent world peace, of dis- armament, of universal arbitration after the great 161 struggle in Europe is over. As long as men hold oppos- ing ambitions, as long as nations have conflicting interests, there will be war. Just as man, the individual, if un- restrained by fear of civil' authority, will use force to gain his ends, so nations, made up of men, ruled by men, will go to war with one another in the absence of any higher authority to restrain them. So, dismissing, as we must if we are to reason in- telligently, the idea of the millenium settling down upon the earth after the European war, it is no difficult task to picture the position in which America will find herself at that time. The Central Powers will hate us, as they hate us now, because we have supplied their enemies with the muni- tions of war and the money without which the Entente AlHes could hardly have continued the conflict. The Entente Allies will hate us, even as they do now, because they believe we did not go far enough in resent- ing German submarine warfare. Japan will hate us, as she does now and has for years past, because her people have been denied equality in the Western States. The Wealth we are accumulating and will have amassed by the time the war is over will make us the object of the envy of all nations. Shall we be hated and envied — and weak? 162 ^m^jf ^-^— ^ Address by Frederick A. Kuenzli to 500 boys of the "First Regiment of United States School Cadets," at their first appearance in uniform at the Audi- torium of Public School No. i, Hoboken, N. J., May 12, 1916. If I should be asked what appeals best to me in your pledge of allegiance I would answer: *'One nation indivisible." In going over your names I notice that they bear the marks of the several national stocks from which your fathers came. But you are not Irishmen or Ger- mans or Frenchmen or Hebrews. You are Americans, every one of you, and with no difference in your Ameri- canism because of the stock from which you came. You think, you wish and do the things that are American and the flag under which you serve as cadets is a flag in which the blood of most of the races of mankind is united to make a free nation. You want a united nation because you know that only when we stand "one for all and all for one" can we successfully resist when danger threatens our honor, integrity or independence. Your uniform is the emblem of unity. Your work, your training while in this garb has only one purpose — that of being better able to defend the Stars and Stripes should that necessity arise. You are brave boys and your parents are patriotic parents. Voluntarily you offered yourself to prepare your bodies to better endure hardship which always comes to men in defense of the flag; you are willing 163 to learn how to handle arms and how to shoot, which is essential should we have to go to war. The rich boy does not want to show off by wearing a suit of costly material, rich Jack will not outdo poor Jim with a classy tie when they come together in the interest of our country. All social and political dis- tinction disappears when we serve only the one purpose : Our Nation. These are the reasons of wearing that simple uniform, representing all for which our glorious Republic stands. Therefore, boys, respect your uniform, you wouldn't want to insult your flag, your country, and I am sure you will not besmirch your uniform by unbecoming con- duct. Wherever you go, whatever you do in this mili- tary suit, think that you are in your best cloth. We know that some of our citizens do not like the idea of your training nor your wearing a soldier's uniform. I cannot understand these people, I cannot see any sane objection to this kind of preparedness. We hate war, so did all those Americans who made this country great, but they could not prevent the Revolution which gave us independence, nor the War of 1812, the Mexican War nor the Spanish War. Eternal World's Peace has been a dream up to now and will stay a dream for generations to come. But isn't there anything that could keep the United States out of war embroilments with any of the great Powers? Answer: Yes, preparedness. There is one great example that proves this assertion and that is Switzerland, the country which trains the boys from their tender age for defense, the country in which the boy of thirteen is a good shot because he gets the train- ing. From his i8th to his 20th year the Swiss boy pre- 164 pares for the sake of his country, and the Preparedness of the Swiss youth is the real reason that Switzerland is at peace today and none of the four great surrounding powers cares to attack her. And look to our country. By whose merit is it that this wonderful flag with the Stars and Stripes waves today over the heads of 100,000,000 free people? Is it the merit of the pacifists who rave against any and every preparedness, who faint when they see a rifle, or is it the proud achievement of those boys who threw them- selves into the garb of Uncle Sam whenever danger arose ? It was the soldier Washington that made our in- dependence possible and lasting, it was the minute-men of New England, Dan Morgan's Virginia riflemen bear- ing on their uniform coats Patrick Henry's famous words — ''Liberty or Death," it was Washington's army of Valley Forge drilled by Baron Steuben, it was the brilliant crackshots of Andrew Jackson's backwoodsmen at the battle of New Orleans that kept the Stars and Stripes floating. When President Polk sent his famous message to Congress in May, 1846, declaring: "Mexico has invaded our territory and shed Ameri- can blood on American soil," which prompted Congress 70 years ago tomorrow to declare war, it was that sterling soldier Taylor with his brave army who added victory to victory and won the Mexican War. It was General Scott and his boys in uniform who so brilliantly fought their way to Mexico City and planted the Stars and Stripes over that city. It was the great soldier boy of 1898 who gave Cuba its liberty and it will be the future citizen-soldier only, who will protect the future of America. 165 And what greater thing could you serve than a nation as this we love and are proud of? By military training we develop an efficient, practi- cal patriotism, a patriotism that knows that when the honor, the dignity, the integrity of our country is at stake, it can and will be defended by a trained, capable army of patriots, an army wherein one feels that he has the ability to do things, the power which comes from knowledge and training, and a willingness to offer, to contribute all for our flag. It is therefore with great satisfaction that I con- gratulate the citizens of Hoboken for having such practi- cal patriots as members of the City Commission, the members of the Board of Education and especially Mayor Patrick Griffin, who made this Cadet Corps possible. The State of New Jersey, which gave our nation that great American, our President Woodrow Wilson, is also to be congratulated in having the patriotic city of Ho- boken contribute to the Nation the "First Regiment of United States School Cadets." That the City of Hoboken may always prosper and always be a patriotic daughter of America is my sincere wish. i66 Frederick A. Kuenzli. MILITARY CONSTITUTION OF THE SWISS FEDERATION (Of April 12, 1907.) The Federal Assembly after entertaining a message of the Federal Council decrees the following: FIRST PART. MILITARY OBLIGATIONS. I. Extent of Obligation. Article i. Every Swiss is bound to do military service. Such service shall consist of: Rendering personal military service; or, Paying a tax of exemption. Article 2. Military service shall commence with the year in which the 20th year is reached and end with the com- pletion of the 48th year. Young men who pass the examination of acceptance may be permitted to enter the service before reaching the legal age, but are not exempt from the prescribed training with their year's class. The provisions as to the time of service of officers and the provisions regulating the draft of boys in case 167 of war are the exceptions to the aforesaid time limit of obHgatory service. Article 3. Anyone not serving pers^onally must pay the tax of exemption. The duty to pay the tax ceases v^hen the payee reaches the age of 40. II. Recruiting. Article 4. The Federal Government in conjunction with the Cantons shall undertake the recruiting. Directions for the appointment of the recruiting commission and its procedure shall be laid down by the Federal Council. Recruiting is to take place after a man reaches his 19th year. Article 5. Recruiting men are to be classified according to their fitness : 1. For firing line; 2. For auxiliary service; 3. Unfit for duty, on account of defectiveness. Re-examination within four years shall be permissible before a final rejection. After passing the examination the recruit shall be assigned to a particular branch of service. Article 6. For the recruiting examination the man shall report at his place of residence. While under order of recruiting he shall be subject to military jurisdiction and the military penal law. 168 Article 7. Each man shall receive a service book wherein all data relating to service and its fulfillment are to be entered. The service book shall never be used for civil reference. III. Personal Military Service. Article 8. The obligations of men fit for the firing line shall be as follows : 1. Service of instruction; 2. Service with the colors, active service in defense of the independence against a foreign enemy, as well as maintaining peace and order within the country. Article 9. Personal military service shall include compHance with: the roster; maintenance and inspection of uni- forms; personal armament and equipment; obligatory firing drill; and, in general, conformance to the military obligations of the service. Article 10. Every soldier may be compelled : 1. To accept a commission; 2. To perform the amount of service required thereby ; 3. To take a command. Anyone receiving a commission must perform the obligations thereof. 169 Article ii. The soldier in service shall receive from the State pay, subsistence and mileag,e for traveling. Amount of pay shall be fixed by Federal law. Regulations for lodging, feeding and mileage shall be adopted by the Federal Assembly. Article 12. During sessions of the Federal Assembly the mem- bers thereof are exempt from service of instruction. Article 13. During their office or employment, the following per- sons shall be exempt from personal military service : 1. The members of the Federal Council and its chief clerks ; 2. Ecclesiastics not commissioned as chaplains; 3. Medical directors, permanent directors and nurses of pubHc hospitals; 4. Directors and guardians of jails and penitentia- ries, members of the police force (if not required to do duty under Article 62) ; 5. The personnel of the border guards. (In case of mobilization the Federal Council may put this guard at the disposal of the mili- tary authorities.) 6. The officials who, in time of war, are indispensa- ble and employees of the public service and mili- tary administration. An ordinance of the Federal Council shall designate those branches of public service and the officials and employees who, in time of war, are indispensable. 170 Article 14. The members of police corps and border guards as well as the officials and employees mentioned in Article 13, Section 6, are exempt from service only after passing a recruiting school. Article 15. The Federal Government shall pay three- fourths of the cost of substitutes for teachers who are doing in- struction service either as non-commissioned or com- missioned officers. No Federal aid shall be given for substitutes of such teachers who do service in regular repetition courses. Article 16. Should anyone render himself unworthy of his com- mission or membership in the army by unbecoming con- duct in private life, the military courts shall decide whether his actions justify expulsion from the army. Article 17. Anyone convicted of a serious offense shall be ex- cluded from the army. Such exclusion shall be decreed by the military de- partment. Article 18. Officers under tutelage, in bankruptcy or against whom there exists a judgment for default of property shall be excluded from service. Should the condition causing the exclusion be raised, the board that commissioned such excluded persons shall decide upon his application for reinstatement to the army. 171 Non-commissioned officers under tutelage, in bank- ruptcy or against whom there exists a judgment for default of property shall be excluded from service pend- ing any such condition. Article 19. Incompetent officers and non-commissioned officers shall be removed from their command by the authority which commissioned them, and compelled to pay the tax of exemption. Should a commander of an Army Division or Army Corps ask the removal for incapability of an officer or non-commissioned officer in his command, and such a request be ratified by the Federal Military Department, the board which promoted him to his rank shall comply therewith. To remove officers above the rank of captain, order must come from the Commission for National Defense. IV. Auxiliary Service. Article 20. Those recruits found capable only to do auxiliary service shall be assigned to one of the auxiliary branches. Here they shall enter either the service of the Med- ical Corps, Commissary Department, Information De- partment or Transport Department. Members assigned to the auxiliary service need not undergo instruction service, but shall pay the tax of exemption for those years they do not perform active service. The Federal Council shall issue orders for govern- ance of the auxiliary service. 172 V. special Contribution by the Federation. Article 21. The Federation shall insure the soldiers against fi- nancial loss due to sickness and accidents. The execution of this article shall be provided for in the Law of Military Insurance. Article 22. Adequate provision shall be made for the support of families which may come to need in consequence of members of families doing service. Such aid shall never be treated as charity. Article 23. It shall come from the municipality in which the members of the soldier reside. If they live in a foreign country, from their native municipality. The municipality shall fix the amount of aid and take all other measures which are necessary under the conditions. It shall report to the Cantonal authority which in turn shall forward the report to the Federal Military Department. Article 24. Three-fourths of such municipal expenses are de- frayed by the Federation, one-fourth by the respective Canton. Article 25. Should disputes arise, the decision of approval of the arrangements of the municipality rests with the Federal Council. 173 Article 26. No demand for return of such funds of aid shall ever be made. Article 27. For loss of life or bodily injury of a civilian caused by military exercises, the Federation shall be liable un- less it is shown that the accident was due to an act of God, or the fault of the killed or injured. Should the accident result in death of the injured person, the Federation shall be liable to those who were dependent upon the victim. Article 28. In a similar way the Federation shall be liable for all damage to property caused by military exercises. The Federal Assembly shall arrange the procedure of fixing such liability. Article 29. The Federation shall have recourse against persons causing the accident or damage to property. VI. Duty of Municipalities and Inhabitants. Article 30. Municipalities and inhabitants shall be bound to: 1. Furnish lodging and food for troops and horses, and grounds for vehicles ; 2. Furnish required military transports. For such service the Federation shall pay an ade- quate compensation. 174 Article 31. The Municipalities shall furnish gratuitously: 1. Suitable rooms for recruiting, sanitary examina- tions and inspection of personal arms and equip- ments. 2. Rooms for headquarters and guards, as well as for sick persons and those under arrest. 3. Grounds and places for mobihzation. 4. Rifle ranges for the required rifle tests. (Arti- cle 124.) Article 32. To help municipalities in establishing rifle ranges and grounds for military exercises, the Federal Council may grant the application of the Federal law of con- demnation. Article 33. Property owners must allow the use of their ground for military exercises. Damage so incurred may be recovered from the Federation by a procedure laid down by the Federal Assembly. Article 34. Every ten years, or when ordered, a census of horses and mules, fit for the various military purposes, shall be taken so as to ascertain the number of such animals in municipalities and Cantons. The owners shall be bound to bring free of charge their animals to the designated census places. Neglect of this order shall place the liability for all costs accruing on the owner. Every municipality must keep a record of available horses, mules and vehicles. 175 SECOND PART. ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. I. Classes of the Army. Article 35. The Army shall consist of Auszug, Landwehr and Landsturm. A soldier belongs to the: Auszug, or First Line, from his 20th to his 32nd year ; Landwehr, from his 33rd to his 40th year; Landsturm, from 41st to 48th year. Assigned to the Landsturm also shall be : Soldiers of the Auszug and Landwehr, unfit for service in those classes, but able to serve in the Landsturm; and volunteers who have proven their ability in rifle firing and their physical fitness. The time of service for non-commissioned officers and soldiers of Cavalry is 10 years. Article 36. Captains must remain in the First Line until after completion of their thirty-eighth year; in the Landwehr until they have completed their forty-fourth year. Officers above the grade of major must serve in the First Line and Landwehr until after completion of the forty-eighth year. 176 All officers of the Landsturm must serve until they have completed their fifty-second year. Officers who so consent may be employed after pass- ing this age limit. Officers of the age for the Auszug may be employed with the Landwehr or Landsturm, those of the age for the Landwehr with the Landsturm. Article 37. The 31st of December of each year shall be the day of entering from one class to another ; in time of im- pending war the Federal Council may postpone the date of entering into the succeeding class. In case of war the Landwehr may be used to fill the ranks of the Auszug, the Landsturm those of the Landwehr. II. Parts of the Army. Article 38. The army shall consist of : 1. The officers. 2. The General Stafif. 3. The branches of troops: a. Infantry (fusileers, sharpshooters, cyclists, ma- chine gunners). b. Cavalry (dragoons, guides, mounted machine and gun crews). c. Artillery (field artillery, mountain artillery, and foot artillery). d. Engineer troops (engineer officers, sappers, pon- pontoniers, pioneers, railroaders). e. Fortress troops (fortress artillery, machine gun- ners, fortress pioneers, fortress sappers). 177 f. Medical corps (physicians, pharmacists, and sol- diers of the medical corps). g. Veterinary troops (veterinarians, farriers), h. Commissary troops. i. Train troops (army train, line train, teamsters). 4. Branches of service: MiHtary law officers, chaplains, field post and field telegraph, general transportation and railroad service, territorial service, secretaries and order- lies for headquarters, motor service, military police. 5. Auxihary service (Article 20). The Federal Assembly may change, or make additions to these regulations. Article 39. The Army shall be divided into : 1. Elementary units: Company, squadron, battery, ambulance, detachment of railroad troops. 2. Tactical units: Battalion, groups of artillery, regiment, brigade, lazaret, commissary detach- ment, mobile train, depot train. 3. Army units : Division, Army Corps, garrison of fortifications. III. Staffs, General Staff. Article 40. The staff of the Army shall be at the service of the Commander-in-Chief. An ordinance of the Federal Council shall regulate its organization. In peace times the General Staff shall perform the functions of the staff of the Army. 178 Article 41. Staff officers shall be assigned to the commanders of the army and tactical units. Assignment of officers and secretaries to the staffs shall be made by the Federal Military Department after conference with the respective commanders. Staffs of fusileer battalions are excepted. As a rule, officers detailed to staff duty shall return after four years' service to their field units. Article 42. The General Staff shall consist of officers of the general staff corps and military railroad officers. The chief of the General Staff Department shall be head of the General Staff. Article 43. Captains and first lieutenants, who have fulfilled the requirements for promotion to captaincy may be ad- mitted to the General Staff Corps. Successful passing of General Staff School I shall be also required. Captains who have successfully passed the Central School II, and who are eligible for service in the Gener- al Staff need not take the first part of General Staff School I. Article 44. After a first period of four years' service with the General Staff, officers shall, as a rule, be transferred back to their field unit. During each rank they should be afforded the command of a field unit. The military railroad officers shall be chosen from officials of the railroad and steamboat service. 179 IV. Classification of the Army. Article 45. The following units are to be formed : Infantry: 3 to 6 companies shall form a battalion; 2 to 4 battalions a regiment; 2 to 3 regiments a brigade. Cavalry : 2 to 3 squadrons of dragoons shall form a regiment ; 2 to 3 regiments and a mounted company of machine guns, a brigade. Artillery: 2 to 4 batteries of field, mountain, or foot artillery shall form a ''group" ; 2 to 3 "groups," a regiment; 4 to 6 park companies and the necessary trains, a mobile park ; 2 to 4 park companies a depot park. Engineers : 2 to 4 companies, with necessary train shall form a battalion. Fortress troops : 2 to 6 companies of the fortress troops shall form a ''group" of fortress artillery. Medical Corps : 3 to 6 ambulance and necessary train shall form a "lazaret." Commissary troops : Several subsistence companies with train shall form a subsistence detachment. Article 46. Divisions shall form by assembling elementary and tactical units of different branches of arms. An Army Corps is to be composed of several Divisions with addi- tional units. Article 47. The commander of a fortified place shall be the com- mander-in-chief of the garrison and in time of war he 180 shall have at his disposal all the war material in the place. Parts of the garrison are to be: The staffs, with the chief of artillery and engineers ; the commanders of sectors and forts ; the guard troops of forts ; the fortress troops, and the branches of troops. To guard against surprise the soldiers of the vicinity may form guard troops. Article 48. In organizing, instructing and equipping troops, re- cruited from montainous regions, their availability in the event of war and the proximity of their place of abode to the scene of action should be considered. Article 49. To staffs and units are to be added the necessary officers and non-commissioned officers of other branches of arms and branches of service. These officers or non-commissioned officers shall re- tain their original assignment but shall be subject at any time to report for duty with their respective staffs The staff commander shall be the superior of such at- tached officers or non-commissioned officers. Article 50. The service of subsistence and accountability are to be performed by quartermasters in the tactical units, by commissary officers in the army units. The quartermasters are to be taken from field officers but they shall retain their original assignment of branch of arms. Article 51. Officers not assigned to particular troops shall be at the disposition of the Federal Council. 181 Article 52. The Federal Assembly shall decree: 1. The number and composition of the elementary units in the different branches of arms and the composition of their corps material; 2. The number and composition of tactical units and army units as well as the composition of their staffs and corps material; 3. The number of companies, fusileer battalions and squadrons of dragoons to be furnished by each Canton. Article 53. According to these resolutions the Federal Council shall establish the order of battle. V. Branches of Service. Article 54. Military laws shall be administered by Division Courts, Supplementary Courts, Military Courts of Ap- peals and the Special Courts. The Judge Advocate shall be the chief administrator of law. Military judges must have a judicial education and the credit of service as troop officer. The military penal law is to be decreed by a special Federal law. Article 55. Chaplains shall be attached to the various tactical units, according to the predominating faith in such unit. Chaplains shall have the rank of captains. 182 Article 56. Postal service for troops of considerable number is to be handled by the field post. The field telegraphy shall take over the telegraphic service of the Army. The officials of the field post and field telegraph at- tached to the staff hold, during service, the rank of officers and non-commissioned officers. Article 57. The transportation and railroad service shall take over the communication between the territorial authori- ties and the Army. Transport to and from the Army as well as the pro- tection of the lines of communication is to be left to its care. Article 58. The territorial department shall be intrusted with the country's interest where the Army cannot take care of it. Delivery to and carrying from the Army shall be its duty. The territorial service can also be charged with local defense problems out of reach of the field army. Article 59. Secretaries of staffs shall do the office work of staffs. They shall have either the rank of "Adjudantunter- offizier" or lieutenant. Article 60. To care for horses, arms and personal equipment of mounted officers, orderlies are to be assigned to staffs and units. 183 Units of field and mountain artillery as well as train troops shall have no such orderlies. Officers' orderlies shall do their recruiting school service with the train troops and their other service with the staff to which they are assigned. The Federal Council may prescribe additional regu- lations for the officers' orderlies. Article 6i. Automobile service and service of similar nature is to be performed by soldiers or volunteers. The latter shall be under military law pending such employment. Article 62. For police duty with the field troops an army police, made up of members of police corps, is to be organized by the Federal Assembly. VI. Superiors. Article 63. The following are to be ranks in the Army : a. ''High privates" (Gefreite). b. Non-commissioned officers: Corporal, sergeant, quartermaster-sergeant, sergeant- major, "non-commissioned officer adjutant" (Ad- jutant Unteroffizier). c. Subalterns : Second and First Lieutenant. d. Captains. 184 e. Higher Officers: Major, Lieutenant-Colonel, Colonel, Colonel of Di- vision, Colonel of Army Corps, General. The incumbent of a rank shall retain his grade even after leaving his command. Article 64. Within the same rank the date of promotion shall determine the precedence; with the same rank and same date of promotion the seniority shall determine the pre- cedence. In case of a temporary vacancy of a command, no one being especially designated to take over the duties, the immediate subordinate shall fill the place. First chance for temporary appointment shall be given to the one who has passed the requirements for the higher rank. Article 65. The number of non-commissioned and commissioned officers must always be kept at full strength. Non-commissioned and commissioned officers for reserve must also be provided. Article 66. Appointment and promotion shall take place only if the applicant be legally certified as to his capacity. The Federal Council may nullify any appointment or promotion which is contrary to the provision of the law of promotion. Article 67. The reports of ability of non-commissioned officers shall be given out by the commanders of units or mili- 185 tary schools immediately after successful passing of such courses. Article 68. Appointments and promotions of non-commissioned officers shall be made by the commanders of staffs and units, according to need and age of service. Article 69. Commissions of promotion to lieutenants, first lieu- tenants and captains shall be issued by the chief of the respective branch of the Military Department as soon as the candidates successfully pass the prescribed courses or schools. Such commissions shall be subject to the confirma- tion of the Division Commander (if the troop, the can- didate belongs to, is subordinate to such), Army Corps Commander or Fortress Commander. Article 70. Certificates of ability for appointment and promotion of staff officers shall be issued by the National Defense Commission. It shall propose the names for promotion and shall detail officers appointed by the Federal Government. Article 71. Promotion to first lieutenant takes place according to the age of service. All other promotions ensue according to need and efficiency. Article 72. An ordinance of the Federal Council shall determine, on the basis of the regulations of this law, the conditions otherwise necessary to obtain a commission. 186 VII. Horses for Military Purposes. Article 73. The government shall aid mounted officers in pro- curing, training and maintaining saddle-horses. Article 74. Lieutenant-colonels and officers of a higher grade, who are commanding officers of the First Line, shall be entitled to an allowance for maintaining a service horse. The same privilege shall be extended to the officers of the General Staff doing service with army staff or staffs of the First Line. For additional horses to which those officers are en- titled, as well as for horses of all other mounted officers; a daily allowance shall be made for the duration of service. All horses drawing an annual allowance and horses brought into service by officers shall be appraised when first brought into service as well as from time to time while in service, and at the end of it. The Federal Council shall provide the regulations for the annual allowance, the daily rental, as well as the mounts for Department officials and instructors. Article 75. Officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of cavalry shall keep a horse for duty. The government shall give the First Line officers of cavalry the same privilege of acquiring horses as the soldiers have. Article "jd. The cavalry horses are to be purchased either by the government or furnished by the men. 187 They are to be trained in remount courses, appraised and turned over to the men. Article "jy. The horses bought by the government are to be turned over to the soldier after they pay half of the appraised value. For horses furnished by the man and placed at the disposition of the department the government shall pay half of the appraised value. The sum of money v/hich the man has to pay to the government or the govern- ment to the man (constituting 50% of the appraised value) is to be paid in 10 yearly payments. Article 78. The mount shall remain in possession of the man as long as he belongs to the First Line. When not doing service the horse must be properly fed and cared for, and may be used for any purpose not hurting its fitness for service. The horse shall be requisitioned for every service its owner has to perform. Article 79. The man shall be liable for the loss of the horse or injury, if such is due to the man's carelessness. Cavalry soldiers, who maltreat their horses or be- come unable to properly take care of them, are to be transferred to another branch of arms or discharged from service. In the latter case the horse must be returned. Article 80. The cavalry horses are to be government property and therefore may not be sold by the man ; neither can an attachment or seizure be made. If a man completes lo years of service with the same horse, that horse shall be his property thereafter. Article 8i. Lodging, maintenance, feeding and use of cavalry horses, when not in military service, shall be controlled by the officers of the branch. Article 82. The government may contract with third parties for the maintenance of cavalry horses. In such cases the legal obligations between the parties are to be the same as between government and cavalry soldier. Article 83. Controversies arising from application of the regu- lations for cavalry horses are to be decided by the mili- tary department; if appeal is taken to the Federal Council, decision by that body shall be final. Article 84. An ordinance by the Federal Council shall regulate, on basis of the preceding rules, the legal relations per- taining to cavalry horses. Article 85. Officers shall furnish their own mounts for service. All other mounts for instruction service are to be furnished by the Military Department. Article 86. While doing service the mounts and pack-horses are to be lodged and fed by the government. 189 VIII. Armament and Personal Equipment; Equip- ment of Corps and other War Material. Articjle 8y. The Federal Assembly shall decree the general regu- lations relative to armament, personal equipment, equip- ment of corps and all other war material. The Federal Council shall adopt specifications for manufacturing these articles. Article 88. Arms and personal equipments shall be furnished to the soldier. Arms and equipment for the recruits shall be new or of equivalent value. Articles of armament or equipment, which are worn- out or become worthless, are to be replaced immediately. Article 89. The Government shall provide cyclists, attached to the First Line troops, with machine and accessories, upon payment of half of the purchase price. An ordinance of the Federal Council shall regulate the legal status of the cycles of the military cyclists. Article 90. Arms and equipment of soldiers are to be furnished by the Canton in which the men are recruited. Equip- ment and personal arms of a man, who has changed his residence permanently since recruiting, is to be furnished by the Canton in which he resides. Article 91. Arms and personal equipment are to be in possession of the man during the whole of his time of service. 190 The man must take good care of them. He shall be liable for loss or damage caused by his carelessness. To use personal equipment outside the service with- out permission is forbidden. Article 92. Arms and personal equipment are the property of the government and shall not be disposed of by the man. They shall not be attached or seized. Article 93. Arms and personal equipment are to be taken away from men who are not capable to take care of them or neglectful in their care, or who leave the service before finishing their obligation. Article 94. Men completing their service obligation may keep their arms and equipment as their property. Article 95. Ofificers shall furnish their own clothing, but their expenses shall be remitted according to regulations of the Federal Council. Other articles of personal equip- ment and arms are to be furnished gratuitously by the government. Mounted officers also shall get their ac- cessories without cost. Article 96. Corps equipment for staff and units are to be pro- vided by the government. The government shall replace worn-out equipment and repair equipment. 191 Article 97. Corps equipment is to be kept at places of mobili- zation. Each staff and unit shall have its separate place for material. Such places must be of easy access to owners. Any vehicles to complete the corps equipment are to be rented. Article 98. The government shall have ready at all times a supply of munition and explosives adequate for any war emergency. Article 99. Personal equipment and arms in hands of soldiers shall be subject to yearly inspection. The inspection shall take place: 1. Of soldiers and non-commissioned officers doing service for the ensuing year. Such inspection shall be held during their respective schools or courses. 2. For soldiers and non-commissioned officers not doing service for the ensuing year. The inspec- tion shall take place at certain (published) days in the municipalities. For such inspection the soldiers are not to be paid. For military courses the inspections are to be per- formed by the officers with the assistance of professional men, in the municipalities by the Commandant of District with the assistance of officers. Personal arms are to be inspected by the ''Comptrollers of Arms" or their deputies. Damaged arms or equipment are to be repaired or replaced immediately. 102 Article ioo. Yearly inspection of Landwehr and Landsturm are utilized to complete and correct the rosters and for the transfer of the men from one class to the other. Article ioi. Every two years the corps equipment of units as well as the one for Infantry and Engineer battalions shall be inspected by their respective commanders; all other war material by the chiefs of the branches of the military department, or their assigned deputies. The object of such inspections shall be to ascertain a correct storing, completeness and good condition of material, and especially of quick mobilization. THIRD PART. INSTRUCTION OF THE ARMY. I. Preparatory Instruction. Article 102. The Cantons shall see to it that males of school age receive physical training. This training is to be given by teachers who attain the requisite qualifications in teachers' colleges, and in special courses of instruction provided by the Federal government. The Federal Government shall exercise supervision over the fulfilment of these provisions. Article 103. The Federal Government may support such asso- ciations and other institutions as foster physical training 193 of boys after leaving school, and the preparation for their military service. The examination for fitness for the Army shall con- sist, in part, of a test for physical proficiency. The Federal Government shall adopt a course of instruction for such physical training. It shall also ar- range courses for the training of instructors for this branch. Article 104. The Federal Government may contribute to the main- tenance of associations and efforts the aim of which is the military preparation of the boys before they arrive at age. Special care is to be given to shooting practice. The Federal Government shall provide, free of charge, w^eapons, ammunition and necessary equipment. The Federal Government shall prescribe rules and exercise supervision over all such military preparation. II. Corps of Instructors. General Directions. Article 105. To conduct the instruction of recruits and training of non-commissioned and commissioned officers in the respective courses, a corps of instructors shall be formed. The Federal Assembly shall fix the number of in- structors for the different branches of arms. Article 106. At the head of the instructors' corps of each branch of arms shall be the Chief of the respective division of the Military Department. Each (district of an) Army Division shall have a District Instructor, who is to be in charge of the train- 194 ing and instruction of men, non-commissioned and com- missioned officers. Article 107. Instructors assigned to a certain branch of arms may be transferred for instruction in other branches, in Cen- tral schools, etc., as well as in the administrative branch of the military department. Such changes of their employment should take place according to fitness and opportunity. Officers of the corps of Instructors are to be assigned to the army and promoted as other officers. Article 108. For the instruction in recruiting and cadres-schools of fortress troops, instructors of the different branches of arms are to be assigned. Pending such service they are to be at the disposition of the Chief of the Artillery. Article 109. Instruction and training of tactical, troop and army units, and the conduct of recruiting schools are to be in the hands of troop (field) officers. Article iio. The Military Department shall outline the general plan of training. The commanders of schools, and troop commanders shall prepare a working program on the basis of the above instructions, for the courses and the school they have to conduct. They shall submit such schedules to their immediate superiors for approval. Article hi. The Central schools and the schools for the officers of the General Staff are to be organized so as to insure a uniform training. 195 Article 112. The time of instruction, especially the time to hold recruiting schools should be selected so as to disturb as little as possible the civil occupation of the man. Article 113. For a scientific military training of officers, especially the officers of the corps of instructors, the ''Ecole Poly- technique Federale" at Zurich shall maintain an addi- tional faculty. Article 114. Any part of the service a man is prevented from fulfilling at the required time, must be made up later. An ordinance of the Federal Council may specify exceptions to the above rule. Article 115. The fixed duration of courses and schools is not to include the time necessary for organization and dis- charge, which should, however, not extend to more than two days for infantry and cavalry and three days for other branches of arms. Article 116. The military authorities are authorized to call to service, for the organization of schools and courses, the necessary musicians, hospital help, gunsmiths, far- riers, etc. Article 117. The commanders of schools and courses shall report briefly on the conduct of such. To this report is to be added that of the inspecting officer of the school or course. The report shall be sent to the Military Depart- ment through military channels. 196 III. Instruction and Training of Recruits. Article ii8. The recruiting schools are to train the men to be- come soldiers, and to serve as a practical instruction of cadres. The duration of such schools for Infantry and Engineers shall be sixty-five days; for Cavalry ninety; for Artillery and Fortress troops seventy-five ; for Sani- tary, Veterinary, Commissary and Train troops, sixty days. Article 119. Musicians, gunsmiths, farriers, and orderlies of offi- cers shall receive their necessary professional training in the recruiting school or in special courses ordered by the Federal Council. In the latter case they shall serve only forty days of the recruiting school. Sanitary Corps soldiers shall take, besides the re- cruiting school, a hospital course, the duration of which is to be fixed by the Federal Council. IV. Repetition Courses. Article 120. First Line troops must pass an annual repetition course to last eleven days, except those for the Artillery and Fortress troops, which shall last fourteen days. Privates and corporals need only take seven yearly repetition courses, cavalry eight, non-commissioned offi- cers from sergeant up only ten. Courses passed in lower grades shall count also. Article 121. Repetition courses of First Line troops are to be so arranged that an adequate change of training in smaller tactical units with training in army units shall take place. 197 Article 122. Landwehr repetition courses of eleven days for all branches shall be held every four years. Privates and corporals of the Landwehr must take only one repetition course. Landwehr men assigned to the First Line must do service with those troops. Article 123. In case of reorganization of army units, or new arma- ment, etc., the Federal Assembly is authorized to order special courses and fix their duration. The Federal As- sembly is also authorized to arrange special courses of one to three days for parts of the Landsturm. In urgent cases the Federal Council may call the Landsturm of certain territories for such courses. V. Obligatory and Voluntary Rifle-Practice. Article 124. Enlisted men and non-commissioned officers of the First Line and Landwehr armed with rifles or carabines, as well as the subaltern officers of the troops, shall pass a yearly rifle practice test. Such tests are to be con- ducted by the rifle clubs according to the Federal regu- lations. Those who neglect this test must undergo a special course without pay. Article 125. Rifle practice in clubs, if subsidized by the govern- ment, shall be conducted according to the military regu- lations. Courses for rifle firing instruction for such clubs shall be adopted by the Federal Government. 198 Article 126. The Federal Government may aid financially any movement toward preparatory military training, organ- ized and subject to Federal regulations. VI. Instruction and Training of Non-commissioned Officers. Article 127. Soldiers of Infantry, Sanitary, Commissary and Train troops, recommended for promotion to non-commissioned officers' rank must pass a school for non-commissioned officers lasting twenty days; those of Cavalry, Artillery, Engineers and Fortress troops one of thirty days' du- ration. The call for such schools shall follow a recom- mendation of the troop officers and instructors of the recruiting school, or the officers of the unit of a repeti- tion course. Article 128. Newly appointed corporals, must pass a recruiting school to qualify. This obligation does not include non- commissioned officers recommended for the school for officers. Article 129. Non-commissioned officers recommended as fourriers (non-commissioned officers of Quartermasters' Depart- ment) must pass a school for fourriers lasting thirty days. Newly appointed fourriers must pass a recruiting school to qualify. Non-commissioned officers nominated to be staff secretaries must pass a course for staff secre- taries of thirty days' duration. 199 VII. Instruction and Training of Officers. Article 130. The specific training for officers shall take place in a school for officers. The duration of these schools is as follows : 1. For Infantry, Cavalry and Fortress troops, eighty days. 2. For Artillery and Engineers, one hundred and five days. 3. For Train troops, sixty days. 4. For Sanitary and Commissary troops and Veteri- nary Surgeons, forty-five days. Officers' schools for Artillery and Engineers may be held in two parts. Article 131. To the schools for officers only non-commissioned officers are admitted. The call shall be based on the recommendation of commanding officers and instructing officers in recruiting schools and field officers of repeti- tion courses. Non-commissioned officers of the sanitary and veteri- nary branches, to be called to the officers' school, must have passed the Cantonal examination for the medical, veterinary and pharmaceutical professions. The call for the officers' school of the sanitary and veterinary service shall be issued by the chief of the sanitary and veterinary service. It shall not be necessary to have the recom- mendation of the officers of a former course. Article 132. Newly appointed lieutenants must pass a recruiting school to qualify. Engineers and veterinary surgeons 200 shall undergo this course in recruiting schools of other branches of arms. Article 133. Candidates for commissary officers' positions shall receive their training for such service in a course of twenty days' duration. Newly appointed quartermasters must pass half of a recruiting school to qualify. Article 134. 1. For advancement to captaincy, subaltern officers of Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, Engineers and Fortress troops must pass Central School II, of thirty days' duration. 2. For promotion to a higher rank, first Ueutenants of Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, Engineers, For- tress Troops, Commissary Troops and Tram Troops must pass a recruiting school as com- mander of a unit. 3. For promotion to a higher rank captains must pass Central School II of a duration of fifty days. This course may be arranged in two parts. To be ordered to this course it shall be requisite to possess a certificate of ability for advancement to a higher grade, acquired in a former military course. For captains of Sanitary, Veterinary, Commissary- and Train-service, Central School II can be substituted by another special course. Article 135. The Federal Assembly, in addition to above-men- tioned courses and for further training of officers, shall 201 arrange for Firing schools, as well as for Technical courses. Officers, for the purpose of further training, may be ordered to courses and schools of other branches of arms than their own, or to special service. Article 136. The Federal Assembly designates the schools and courses necessary for the instruction of officials of field post and field telegraphy, as well as for officers of the transportation and territorial service. VIII. General Staff. Article 137. Instruction for service in the General Staff shall be obtained in the following courses : 1. General Staff School I of seventy days' duration for future officers of the General Staff (article 43), this course to be divided into two parts. 2. General Staff School II of forty-two days' du- ration for captains (article 43). 3. General Staff School III of twenty-one days' du- ration for officers having successfully passed the General Staff School I and II. To these schools field officers also may be ordered. The Federal Assembly may authorize additional practice courses. Article 138. Every year a number of officers of the General Staff shall be ordered to duty in the General Staff Depart- ment. Field officers may also be assigned to such work. 202 Article 139. Officers of the General Staff assigned to headquarters are to take part in the exercises of those staffs. Other officers of the General Staff may be ordered to such exercises. Officers of the General Staff also are to be ordered to schools and courses of the different branches of arms. Article 140. Officers of the Railroad Department must take a course of twenty days and afterwards, according to need, may be called for work under the General Staff or special courses. To these courses and to this work other railroad offi- cials may be ordered. IX. Staff Duties. Article 141. The staffs shall be called out every two years for tactical maneuvers for the duration of eleven days. These maneuvers are to be directed alternately by the Army Corps Commander and Division Commanders. The Military Department shall designate the staff officers who are to take part in those exercises. Article 142. Every two years strategic maneuvers shall be held. They are to be directed by an officer of the Military Department, Army Corps and Division Commanders, their chiefs of staff, the Fortress Commanders and other officers designated by the Military Department. Such exercises shall last eleven days. 203 Article 143. The officers of the Engineers' Corps at the disposal of the Engineer Branch are to be called for work in that branch. X. Inspection. Article 144. The inspection of schools and courses shall take place as follows : 1. The repetition courses by the immediate superior of the commander of the course. 2. Exercises directed by any Army Corps Com- mander or a Chief of Branch by the Chief of the Military Department. 3. Schools and courses directed by Fortress Com- manders are to be inspected by the commander of the army corps, in whose territory the fortress lies. 4. Schools and courses held in the district of an army corps, Division or garrison by the proper commander of that unit. 5. All other schools by an Army Corps, Division Commander or Chief of Branch designated by the Military Department. Article 145. If an inspector be prevented from acting in his ca- pacity the Military Department shall designate a sub- stitute. 204 FOURTH PART* MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. I. Federation and the Cantons. Article 146. The Federal Council shall direct the military adminis- tration. The part of military administration assigned to the Cantons shall be directed by them under super- vision of the Federal government. Article 147. The Federal Council shall have power to enforce the execution of these articles. It shall approve the service and drill regulations with the exception of the administrative regulations, the ap- proval of which is subject to the Federal Assembly. Article 148. The Federal Council shall divide the territory of the Federation into districts of Divisions in such a way that the units of a Division will be recruited from the males of such districts. The borders of a district should, wherever possible, be identical with Cantonal borders. Article 149. The Cantons shall be divided into districts from which an infantry regiment of the First Line can be recruited. Wherever it is impossible to make regimental 205 districts, districts may be formed for battalions or com- panies. The Federal Council shall designate the district lines when such are submitted by the Cantons. Article 150. The Cantons must demand of each citizen, tempora- rily or permanently residing within its borders, proof of having performed his obligations. This proof should be contained in the citizen's ''Service Booklet." Every time a change of temporary or permanent residence is made, permission therefore must be reported to the mili- tary authorities of the Canton, from which the man was recruited or, if the man be assigned to a federal unit, to the Chief of Branch. Article 151. Each Canton shall keep a roster of all the men of military age residing therein; these rosteis are the basis of miHtary control and information. Each Canton shall keep a roster of men assigned to auxiliary service. Corps rosters of staffs and troop units are kept by the Federal and Cantonal military authori- ties, as well as by the commanders of staffs and units. The Federal Council shall adopt ordinances regulating the control over these bodies, and supervising proper enactment. Article 152. Each Canton shall appoint ''District Commanders" to keep the Cantonal roster and conduct necessary com- munication with men under military obligations. Ac- cording to need, the districts may be divided into sections, with a "Section Chief" at the head of each. 206 Article 153. The Cantons shall furnish the companies and bat- tahons of infantry, squadrons of dragoons, as well as the units and battalions of Landsturm and the auxiliary service. Where the effective strength is insufficient to form whole battalions, companies or squadrons of dragoons, the Federal Assembly shall fix the formation. Article 154. The Federation shall form all units and staffs not furnished by the Cantons, and organize the branches of the service. Article 155. The necessary officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of other branches of arms are to be assigned to the Cantonal units by the Federation. Article 156. The Cantons shall appoint officers of Cantonal units and infantry officers of the staffs of fusileer battalions. The Federal Council shall appoint the staff officers of battalions that are made up from more than one Canton. The Federal Council shall appoint the officers of companies recruited from more than one Canton. The Federal Council shall appoint all those officers which the Cantons are not entitled to appoint. Article 157. The Federal Council shall assign officers and non- commissioned officers who are over the quota required in any Canton to those Cantons that are not able to furnish the required number, 207 Article 158. The Federation shall furnish the armament, the corps equipment and other war material. The Cantons shall furnish the equipment of the Can- tonal and Federal troops according to the Federal speci- fications. Equipment for a whole year, as well as a reserve equipment of arms and personal equipment, must always be on hand. The Federal Assembly shall fix the amount to be paid to the Cantons for personal equipment, its replacing and upkeep. Article 159. The Cantons shall supervise and maintain the corps equipment of the Cantonal and Federal troop units. The Federation shall supervise and maintain all other corps material. Arms and articles of equipment taken over from sol- diers must be kept in good condition and stored in such manner as to assure a quick re-equipment in case of mobilization. Articles of equipment returned by soldiers leaving service before finishing their military obligations, are to be laid aside for reserve equipment. Article 160. The Federal Council shall issue calls for service. The calls for service of troops are to be issued by the Can- tonal military authorities. Article 161. Applications for dispensation from service shall be decided by the Cantonal military authorities for Cantonal 208 troops, and by the Federal military authorities for Feder- al troops. Rules governing dispensations are established by the Federal Council. If an officer applies for dispensation from service his immediate superior officer has to be consulted. Article 162. If a Canton fails to fulfill any obligation herein the Federation shall perform such obligation and assess the cost against such Canton. Article 163. Personal equipment, armament, all corps and war material shall be at the disposal of the Federation and at the disposal of the Cantons, according to their needs, but subject to the Federal laws. Article 164. Food and drink for troops in Federal service shall never be subject to any Cantonal or municipal taxation. Cantonal or municipal monopolies may not be made ap- plicable to dealings in the necessities for troops. Military institutions or military works as well as Federal military properties shall be free of any Cantonal or municipal taxes. Contracts, serving the national de- fense, shall not be subject to any Cantonal fees or permits. Article 165. Service cycles of cyclists and automobiles for milita- ry purposes shall be exempt from Cantonal taxes or fees. 209 Article i66. The Cantons shall collect the military taxes, and de- liver half of the net collection to the Federation. II. The Military Administratian of the Federation. Article 167. The Chief of the Swiss Military Department (a member of the Federal Council) shall direct the Bureau of the Military Department. The Bureau shall execute the orders of the Chief of the MiHtary Department and prepare his recommenda- tions for the Federal Council; it shall assume the cor- respondence of the Department and keep the archives. The Secretary of the National Defense Commission shall be attached to the Bureau of the Military Depart- ment. Article 168. Subordinate to the Military Department shall be the Chiefs of the Branches of Service: The Chiefs of the General Staff; The Chiefs of the Branches of Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, Engineers, and Fortress Department (Chief of Branch) ; Chief Surgeon ; Chief Veterinary; Chief of Commissary; Chief of Military Technical Department; Chief of War Material; Chief of the Topographical Service; Chief Remount officer. Assigned to the Chiefs of Branch shall be the neces- sary officials and employees. 210 Article 169. The duties of the Chiefs of Branch are as follows: 1. To report and recommend on all affairs concern- ing their department; 2. To prepare manuals, ordinances and legislative bills; 3. To prepare annual budgets of their Branch and annual reports of their business. The Chiefs of Branch must transact the business of the Federal with the Cantonal Military Department and with the officers. They execute the orders of the De- partment and transact such business, which by orders of the annual budget and general rules, established by the Department, is committed to them. Article 170. The functions of the General Staff Department are as follows: 1. Preparation for mobilization and disposition of the army in case of war, and general preparation for war; 2. Approval and recommendation in all matters per- taining to National Defense, to the army as a whole and to the Army Staff ; 3. Approval of recommendation relating to ma- neuvers of large units and exercises of the higher staffs ; 4. Organization and conduct of schools and courses for officers of the General Staff and staff secre- taries, issuing the certificate of ability for cap- tains of the General Staff and staff secretaries; consideration of the application for dispensing 211 with service of officers of the General Staff and staff secretaries ; 5. Recommendation for assigning officers of the General Staff and staff secretaries to the staffs after consultation with the field officers; 6. Maintenance of the effective strength of the General Staff corps; 7. Preparation of the railroad transportation and territorial service, the field post and field tele- graph departments, training of officers and the personnel of these branches; 8. Gathering for the emergency of war : Formation concerning the Swiss and foreign armies, mili- tary statistics and geographical condition of the coimtry and neighboring countries ; 9. Supervision of the Military Library and the stock of army maps. Article 171. The Chiefs of Branch of Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, Engineers and Fortress Department shall have the fol- lowing prerogatives : 1. To transact the business of their branch; 2. To administer units, staffs and auxiliary service, formed by the Federation ; 3. To supervise the training of their branch, the general organization of schools and courses and the managment of such, except as provided for in article 109; 4. To consider application for dispensation, if such are not within jurisdiction of the Cantons ; 5. To approve and forward matters concerning offi- cers (nomination, promotion, assignment, dis- 212 charge, etc.), issue certificates of ability for sub- altern officers and captains named for promotion. The following officers shall have the same powers: Chief Surgeon for his branch; Chief Veterinary for his branch; Chief of Commissary for his branch. Article 172. The Infantry Branch shall supervise the organization and conduct of the central schools, preparatory military courses, and all rifle shooting. Article 173. The Cavalry Branch shall supervise the purchase and training of horses, turn them over to the cavalry per- sonnel, control and administer all such horses, and supervise the remount depots. Article 174. The Artillery Branch shall administer the training of Train troops, training of orderlies for officers and their assignment to staffs and units. Article 175. The Engineer Branch shall supervise the work of all engineer officers in preparation for war in conformity with the directions of the General Staff; supervise the department for mines, care for the stock of explosives, instruments and material for demohtion, and prepare fortifications for time of war. Article 176. The Fortress Branch shall maintain, complete and supervise permanent fortifications, take charge of the 213 Bureau of Construction of Fortifications and the Bureau for Firing of Fortifications. Fort guards protecting and maintaining the fortifi- cation works, shall be governed by regulations adopted by the Federal Council. Article 177. The Sanitary Branch shall direct the whole sanitary service, including the voluntary auxiliary service of this branch, military insurance and physical examination of all males who have reached their 19th year. Article 178. The Veterinary Branch shall supervise all the veteri- nary service, appraise the service horses and fix their depreciation in value and decide all claims pertaining to such, as well as train and assign farriers. Article 179. The Commissary Branch shall be headquarters for the whole system of accounts and subsistence of the Army. It shall furnish and care for all food material and replace stock. The Army storehouses and supply depots shall be under its care, as well as the administration of the Feder- al barracks. It shall supervise the Military Department's printing office and control the entire stock in hands of the administrative Department of War Material. Article 180. The Military Technical Branch shall take care of all business pertaining to armament and improvement of war material. It shall furnish the personal equipment not furnished by the Cantons, adopt ordinances and manuals for war material and personal equipment, turn 214 over the finished material to the Department of War Material and of Fortress. It shall be in charge of the military workshops, powder factories, experimental stations for guns and small firearms and shall control ammunition. Article i8i. The Department for War Material shall supervise the storing, inventory and distribution of the material received from the Military Technical Department. It shall distribute and turn over to the Cantons all such material belonging to Cantonal units, care for the material remaining with the Federation, direct the service in the Federal arsenals, munition and explosives depots, and exercise supervision over the service in the Cantonal arsenals and munition depots. It shall provide military schools and courses with the necessary material and ammunition. The Department for War Material shall exercise supervision over the personal equipment furnished by the Federation, especially the personal equipment and armament of officers. It shall supervise the Cantonal stock of equipment, and control the arms and personal equipment of the troops. Article 182. The Department for Topography Service shall be in charge of surveys and make and issue maps for the Army. It may also draw up maps not strictly for mili- tary purposes. Article 183. The Remount Department shall purchase and deliver mounts for officers, and furnish horses for the instruc- tion service. 215 Article 184. The Federal Council by resolution may combine any branch of the Military Department, or may order changes in the duties of the branches. III. Command. Article 185. The Federal administration must be organized so as to secure for the commanders of Army units and tactical and elementary units the prestige due their command in order to maintain proper discipline among the troops. Article 186. The commanders of army, tactical and elementary units shall be responsible for the constant effective strength of their troops. They shall control the presence and condition of personal equipment and arms, as well as the corps equip- ment of their troops. Article 187. Commanders of Army units must convince themselves personally of the standard of training, efficiency and readiness of their units. They shall have the power to require reports from their subordinates. They may promulgate, personally or through their chiefs of staff, measures for the assembly and mobili- zation of their troops. Article 188. Reports and recommendations of troop commanders are to be sent to superior military authorities through military channels. 216 These recommendations should be given due conside- ration in making up the annual budget, in regulations governing recruiting, in compiling programs for training and decrees calling troops to military schools and special courses. Article 189. An ordinance of the Federal Council shall regulate the keeping of records of service and qualifications of officers and non-commissioned officers, as well as the control of effective strength of troops within the Army units. Such an ordinance shall determine the spheres of activity and the service relations of troop commanders. It shall regulate the service of the clerical force of the bureau attached to commanders of Army units. Article 190. The Federal Council shall fix the allowance for the commanders of the Army units. Article 191. Important questions concerning the National Defense are to be deliberated on by a Commission of National Defense, consisting of the Chief of the Military Depart- ment, acting as chairman ; the Army Corps Commanders, the Chief of General Stafif and the Chief of Branch of Infantry. The functions of the Commission shall cease as soon as a General is appointed. Article 192. In the proceedings of the Commission which pertain to the issuance of certificates of ability, as well as the 217 recommendation for promotion and assignment of staff officers to be appointed by the Federation, and in pro- ceedings relative to discharge of staff officers from their command, the Division Commanders and Chiefs of Branches which are not members of the Commission shall likewise take part. Article 193. The recommendations of Chiefs of Branch and re- spective troop commanders concerning officers to be promoted and assigned by the Commission of National Defense shall be submitted to said Commission. The secretary of the Commission shall collect and classify all records of officers of all arms who have reached the rank of captain. These records shall show the assignments and the service performed. These records shall be at the disposal of the Com- mission of National Defense. Article 194. To discuss measures of efficiency and improvements in military matters a conference shall take place at least once a year, between the Chief of the Military Depart- ment, acting as chairman, and the commanders of army units. In this conference the Chiefs of Branch desig- nated by the Military Department shall also participate. 218 FIFTH PART* ACTIVE SERVICE. I. General Directions. Article 195. It shall be the duty of the Army to uphold the in- dependence of the country against foreign aggression, and to maintain peace and order within (article 2 of the Constitution of May 29, 1874). Article 196. The Army shall be at the disposal of the Federation. The Cantons may make use of the troops of their terri- tory in an emergency in case the Federation has not provided therefore. Article 197. Cantons shall bear the cost of levies of troops for Cantonal use. Pay, subsistence and lodging of such troops shall be furnished by the Cantons in accordance with the Federal regulations. Article 198. The Federal Council shall order the call of troops for Federal service, and supervise the execution of the call. All troops called for active Federal Service shall take the oath of war. 219 Article 199. The Federal Council may order troops on picket. When placed on picket no military person shall leave the country without' permission of the military authorities. Article 200. The order to place a troop unit on picket shall in- clude all officers, non-commissioned officers and privates of the unit, if no Hmitation is contained in the order. Article 201. In case of mobilization the Federal Council may put under the military law all the officials, employees and workmen of the military administration, establishments and workshops, as well as those of the public transpor- tation services. Article 202. In case of a call for active service the Federal Council may put the employees of the military administration and works as well as those of the public transportation under the military laws. Article 203. In time of war citizens free of military service shall put themselves at the disposal of the country and do all in their power for the defense of the country. In time of war or danger of war, every person shall put his personal and real property at the disposal of the troop commanders or military authorities for the purpose of military emergencies. The Federation shall compen- sate in full all just claims. II. Commander-in-Chief. Article 204. As soon as the mobiHzation of an important part of the Army is ordered the Federal Assembly shall appoint a General. The General shall be the Commander-in-Chief of the Army. He shall be instructed by the Federal Council as to the object of the mobilization. To relieve the General of his duties before the troops are distributed at proper strategic points, shall require serious cause, and the reasons to be set forth in a res- olution of the Federal Council. Article 205. The Chief of the General Staff shall be appointed by the Federal Council after consultation with the General. Article 206. In case of mobilization the Swiss Military Depart- ment shall assume command of the Army until such time as a General is elected. Article 207. Should the General be prevented from commanding, the senior Army Corps Commander, and in case of his absence the Chief of the General Staff, shall be in command. Article 208. The General shall order all military measures he con- siders necessary to be carried out. He shall dispose at his pleasure of all the military power and resources of the country. 221 Article 209. The General may fix the order of battle without being bound by the definite provisions of this law. He shall be authorized to relieve officers of their command and appoint officers to temporary commands. Article 210. Should the General demand the mobilization of addi- tional army units the Federal Council shall call them out. Article 211. The Swiss Military Department shall direct the terri- torial service. III. Horses and Vehicles. Article 212. The Federation shall have the right to use all horses, mules and means of transportation within its territory in case of mobilization. Article 213. Should the National Defense require the placing on picket of horses, mules and other means of transpor tation the Federal Council shall order so and meantime place an embargo thereon. When the picket is decreed the municipalities shall immediately bring up to date their records of controls of horses within their limits. From the day of announcement of the picket decree no one in possession of a horse, mule or other means of transportation, be such in his own name or in that of a third person, shall be permitted to dispose of the same without permission of the military authorities. 222 A fine of from lOO to 10,000 francs and imprison- ment not to exceed six months may be imposed by the Federal Penal Court for violation of this section. Article 214. With the promulgation of a picket decree an exami- nation of all horses, mules and means of transportation as to their military value shall take place. Such material as is found unfit for military use may be sold by the owner. Meanwhile, the assignment of horses, mules and means of transportation to the staffs and units shall take place. Article 215. The orders for mobilization of horses, mules and other means of transportation are combined in the regu- lations of mobilization. Municipalities shall be required to have all horses, mules and other means of transportation fit for service in time and at the designated corps-gathering places at the disposal of the Place Commander. If the number of horses and mules is greater than required, the surplus shall be sent to horse depots. Article 216. The Federation shall pay to the municipalities in- demnity for such damage as may result from the use of horses, mules and other means of transportation. IV. Transportation Service in Time of War. Article 217. In time of war or danger of war the Federal Council, or the General after his appointment, may decree the operation of the railroads for war service. 22Z In that case the right of disposition of railroads, their material, the personnel of their employees and the di- rection of their operation is transferred to the military authorities. The personnel shall not leave the service and shall come under the military laws. Article 218. The Federal Council, or the General when appointed, may order the construction of tracks, buildings or other installations, or the destruction of such. Article 219. The Federation shall reimburse private corporations for damages caused by military necessity. Disagreement as to the amount to be paid by the Federation to private corporations shall be decided by the Federal Court. Article 220. The aforesaid regulations apply to steamship com- panies, also. Enacted by the Standerat, Bern, April 12, 1907. The President: Adalbert Wirz. The Clerk: Schatzmann. Also enacted by the Nationalrat, Bern, April 12, 1907. The President: Camille Decoppet. The Clerk: Ringier. 224 THE front page illustration represents Helvetia, Switzerland, standing well armed "In the midst of the conflagration of the peoples," and with her shield and sword calmly fending off the furies of war from the woman and the children who seek protection by her side. This historical and beautiful work is by Otto Schweizer, of Philadelphia, born a Swiss and naturalized here and a personal friend of the author of this book. It represents the aspirations not only of the people of Swit- zerland but of our own Republic as well. Switzerland is on the right flank of France and on the left flank of Germany. Her neutrality is respected, her territory is uninvaded, and her insti- tutions hardly threatened by the greatest war of history now raging around her. Like our country, Switzerland owes her free institutions, in large measure, to the fact that those who sought freedom found protection there in the distance or geographical condition of the region. But military science of to-day has overcome all natural defenses and distance is as nothing to the modern means of transportation. The Swiss Republic, more immediately menaced by imperial dangers and imperial arms than our Republic and so much longer exposed to those dangers has been more stimulated to prepare a defense than we, perhaps more so because she has not our great numbers to create overconfidence. Expert in marksmanship, disciplined and prepared to the minutest detail, the highly efiicient Swiss army of trained citizen soldiers pre- serves and does not threaten the liberties of the Swiss people. The Swiss are free because they are prepared; they are neutral because they are free and prepared. There are other features of this work worthy of attention. The woman and the children have been in danger and distress, but one of the children has already dried its eyes and is looking up with childhood's instant appreciation to the figure that pro- tects it. But look at the face of this Swiss Goddess of Liberty and then at the faces of the two demons of war. The latter, convulsed with passion, are oblivious to persons or directions. They are furies of war performing a dance of destruction. To them there is no possible comprehension or sympathy with the joy of service, the sanity and faith expressed upon the face of the great central figure which so clearly reveals preparedness protecting both motherhood and childhood under a great shield. There is so much of the history of the free peoples in this work of art; there is so much of the expression of the duties and opportunities of neutrality; there is so much in common between the position of Switzerland to-day and the position of our country that it is a fitting illustration showing the efficiency of the citizen soldiery of Switzerland. 225 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 011 399 422 8